Two Saviours and a Maniac
by PhoenixPhlame
Summary: 4yrs as Head of the Auror Department, and overworked. Unfortunately for Harry, when Kira shows up in Japan, he finds himself unanimously chosen to infiltrate the NPA! Bring on the detective L, who soon starts digging deeper to discover Harry's secrets!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing literary wise and am just grateful to the original authors for creating such brilliant characters that can inspire people like me to want to read/write more about them. Thanks!

A/N: Let's just say that things are never the same when Harry Potter is involved, and that he solves as many problems as he creates. Sound like fun? I thought so. Harry had grown differently in my universe, and he's become rather cynical I suppose. Give him an alias, send him to Japan, stick him slap bang in the middle of the Kira case, add the world's best detective, the world's worst secret, and what do you get?

This.

**Chapter 1**

Harry Potter was 23 years old, and he pretty much had it made. He was a cracking Auror, with people constantly saying things like, "A credit to the department you are, Mr Potter!" and, "No idea where we'd be without you Mr Potter!" and even "You should be our Minister of Magic Mr Potter!" but truthfully it all meant very little to him now in his office as Head of Department, minutes before his departure half way round the world, probably to get killed by some nutter with a god complex.

Harry had pretty much revolutionised the way the Aurors worked in his four years as Department Head, and he was amazed the department had survived as long as it had.

Basically he had started Auror training fresh out of Hogwarts, expecting more than what he got. He finished the three year training course in just under a year, and was the youngest to complete the training in history, not that anyone expected anything different. Harry figured he should be happy, and that it was a brilliant achievement considering that he wasn't actually that bright. The problem was that he just wasn't satisfied in the slightest. He got the job as an Auror, and yet again, spectacular things were expected from him. His Team Leader and others actually looked to him for advice, and if there was ever a problem, it was, "Oh I know! I bet Potter will know exactly how to deal with this!"

Soon Harry found himself in the middle of a department full of disorganised, inexperienced rookies, mostly anyone of any standing having been killed in one of the battles with Voldemort and the last of his Death Eaters. Most of the muggleborns that were left had struggled in the muggle world before returning to wizarding society after the ministry had been cleaned up. Kingsley was the Department Head at the time, and was pretty vocal about not wanting the job. Being head of the department meant that Kingsley not only had longer hours with ten times the paperwork, but he barely left the building due to the number of Death Eater trials, and it was fieldwork that the man excelled in. It wasn't long before Harry found himself in Kingsley's office, being offered the job of Department Head.

It didn't take Harry very long as an Auror to mentally catalogue every single flaw and it didn't take long after that before he was thoroughly disgusted by what the Aurors _didn't_ know.

Let us just say that a Dark Wizard escaped to the muggle world. The ignorant Aurors were more likely to cause a scene than the criminal. More time and resources were wasted cleaning up after the clumsy Aurors! It was like the 'Obliviate' charm meant that stealth was a thing of the past. muggles were treated more like an ignorant herd of cattle when it came to these things, and the witches and wizards had been removed from them for so long that the users of magic had fallen into an age old trap.

For so many years, advances in muggle technology were so few and insignificant that the Wizards took little notice, and they became complacent, so used to thinking that the muggles weren't a threat anymore since they'd packed away their stakes, pitchforks and flaming torches. Yes, the general magical population had noticed the bigger, shinier buildings. They'd noticed the cars on the roads, and the planes in the sky as they'd passed them on their brooms, and they'd laughed at them, thinking along the lines of, "Look at the cute little muggles! Trying to copy magic!"

Well, that was until some poor unfortunate soul had gotten a bit too close.

That had been one _hell_ of a mess to clean up (way before his time thankfully). From there planes were generally avoided by broom travellers. Still though, wizards had noticed these advances and yet pure-blood culture meant that very few truly understood what it all meant. If anything the muggles had more tricks up their sleeves than the wizards in general knew about, and that ignorance could cost them dearly. Muggles weren't inferior in the slightest and if the wizards didn't keep up, then there would be no secrecy between their worlds.

At eighteen years old, with the Death Eaters practically non-existent, and the wizarding world being peaceful again after so long, Harry had noted that the main problem was laziness and ignorance. Witches and wizards were positively _medieval_. Compared to the muggle world, the wizarding world was stagnant, and not only was there nothing being done about it, but the Aurors were the ones being run ragged trying to hide their existence, and the Aurors didn't have a clue about the muggle world.

Training consisted of Advanced Apparition (wards, tracking, and masking), Combat Spellcasting (dodging, offensive and defensive), Portkeys (basically, only Team Leaders are allowed to make them in dire emergencies, and if you need to track a portkey, call in the Portkey Regulators. If you need a portkey, apply for one to the Portkey Regulators. They stretch that into a course that normally lasts three months), Stealth and Disguise (detection, neutralising, spellcasting), Strategy (raids, arrests and the like), Dark Magic (detection, neutralising etc), and a very small section on muggles.

Basically, "If muggles get involved, call in the Obliviators, and keep them busy until they get there. Now, to call in the Obliviation Squad..." That was it. This led to Aurors blundering their way through muggle society and calling the Obliviation squad to clean up, which they did a mediocre job of.

Harry had reluctantly agreed to accept the job on two conditions. Kingsley had raised his eyebrows at his conditions, and had asked if he'd like to be admitted into St Mungo's.

He'd replied that no actually, he was being serious and would like it arranged for him to have the necessary paperwork for six months of muggle military training, with the aim of hopefully improving Auror training in the future. Also he was serious about wanting to live for six more months as a muggle, either training or otherwise. He'd said that muggles were more advanced than they thought, and had security cameras in many streets, and that if there were no wizards that understood how they worked then eventually something would be caught on their cameras and their secrecy laws would be for nothing. It could cause chaos. He'd brought up the internet, and how muggles had inventions that put the wizarding world to shame, and that like it or not, if wizards didn't move with the times, they would be discovered. If something did happen to be caught on their cameras then there was nobody in their world who knew how to sort a mess like that out. There was nobody even checking for events such as muggle security tapes recording something they shouldn't. Also as Head of the Auror Department he should gain the experience of surviving amongst muggles.

At least if he did this then he'd be able to train the Aurors in stealth among the muggles, which was at an all time low.

He hadn't mentioned the tiny issue of having split up with Ginny recently, and Kingsley had either put it out of his mind or tactfully didn't bring it up. Either way, Harry was thankful.

Arthur Weasley had amazingly enough become Minister Weasley, and had supported Harry wholeheartedly. He had even gone as far as speaking to the muggle Prime Minister who, in his eagerness to show the wizards the best they had to offer, had agreed on specialised training for Harry. Agreed of course, with the condition that Harry be under magical oath never to reveal his training unless authorised to do so by the current Prime Minister, unless it was a life or death situation, either his own life or someone else's, magical or muggle. There wasn't much choice other than to complete the oath, even if Harry thought that all this fuss was unnecessary, after all, both the Minister of Magic and the muggle Prime Minister were involved, so he couldn't exactly say no.

So that's what Harry had done, and at 19 he had returned to the Auror department fitter, happier, and faster than ever before, and had become the youngest Department Head ever.

From there Harry had completely overhauled the training grounds, writing his own training program, which had terrified the newly termed Auror Cadets into almost wetting themselves. After seeing the benefits on Harry, they'd soon agreed that they should update the program. He'd wasted no time in enlisting Ron and Hermione's help to design a mammoth obstacle course including a non-magical area reminiscent of the muggle course where he'd almost passed out on numerous occasions before his muscles had gotten used to the constant exercise.

Ron had taken up his friends' challenge with gusto, saying that there's no way Harry could go through it and he couldn't, and had just completed his muggle Auror training, and Hermione had spent the time on her latest project, which was trying to create a room of requirement for the Auror training grounds. She was already famous in her own right not only for her actions regarding the final defeat of Voldemort, but for creating the first ever magical battery for powering muggle devices in magical surroundings, which she'd then modified into generator-like devices called Magisockets that were disguised as plug sockets that you could stick on any wall. It powered anything with a plug. Mr Weasley was ecstatic and had gone mad in the Burrow, much to Mrs Weasley's dismay. It had taken off amongst the muggleborn and half-blood population, and George Weasley was happy to stock them in WWW.

Arthur Weasley, who had protested at first after being offered the job, had soon found himself enjoying cleaning up the Ministry, employing many of the returning muggleborns into positions vacated by those convicted of Death Eater activity. These days the ministry was running smoothly, and due to Hermione's Magisockets and very little convincing on her and Harry's parts, Minister Weasley had decided to open a Technology department in the ministry, focussed on muggle technology and what it was capable of, and how to avoid potential disasters. He'd taken Harry's advice and soon volunteers were in the muggle world learning about computers.

Nobody had any arguments left when it was mentioned that it would be rather stupid for them to be blown to smithereens by some muggle nuclear warhead in a random muggle war they knew nothing about. It was telling when a majority of the protesters then had to be told what a nuclear warhead was, and after that they were more willing for there to be a department to keep up with whatever the muggles would dream up next, as long as it wasn't them, their snobby children, or anyone related to them doing the work.

The problem now was that Harry had been working almost constantly for months now, and he desperately wanted some time off, but he had to travel to Japan where the technology department had found a potential disaster. The department had been in shock as they had watched a recording of Lind L Tailor dying live on national television, and then as a large gothic 'L' was displayed, and the evidence revealed. Not even wizards could kill from a distance with just a name and a face.

Minister Weasley had been called in straight away, who had immediately called Harry. Next thing he knows, it's been decided that as the person most experienced with muggles and blending in successfully, he'd be the one going to Japan on boxing day to find out more about this mysterious 'Kira'. He'd be leaving for an indefinite period of time whilst Ron and George took care of things at the office, George having hired Lee Jordan to take care of WWW before he'd joined Ron in Auror training. Together, and with Minister Weasley's help, they had ironed out a few details with the Japanese Ministry and Harry would be going undercover disguised as an officer in the NPA, in the department aimed towards catching Kira. This would be the best way to find out what was known so far, and to keep up with the case since they couldn't rely on the media for accurate up to date information. Harry would do his own investigating on any leads using magical means during his spare time.

Harry sighed, looking around to make sure he wouldn't forget anything, and headed towards the International Floo. He'd already said his goodbye's, and would be heading directly to Japan, and from there he'd apparate to a flat that had already had the rent paid in advance for the next six months.

Before long he was standing in the floo queue (hahaha!), and a rather large flashing sign caught his attention.

DON'T FORGET YOUR TRANSLATION CHARMS!

KEEP YOUR ELBOWS IN WITH YOUR BAGGAGE AT ALL TIMES!

ALL ANIMALS MUST BE CHECKED IN CAGES!

Harry snorted at the poor wording and shuffled forwards, encountering another sign on the opposite side.

YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!

APPROXIMATE WAIT: 3 MINUTES

HAVE A NICE DAY!

Harry sighed and looked to the wall where there were clocks displaying the time of any country you could imagine, in alphabetical order. He noted that it would be roughly 6:30pm when he arrived to his flat if the apparition point was nearby, which it should be.

He could have just apparated the whole way but he was already rather tired out after a restless night. Even after all these years he still put up silencing charms before he went to sleep. Months of nothing but work and sleep with very little real food in between had taken their toll, and apparating that sort of distance now left him rather tired and short tempered for a while. Not advisable when he was supposed to be going to the NPA building at 7pm.

As far as anyone there would know, his name was Kinjo Ryuuki, transferred from Okinawa after taking an interest in the Kira case. A loose paper trail had been created, in case anyone looked a bit deeper, but truthfully Harry hoped they didn't, as he didn't fancy having to explain himself if someone caught on to the fact that Kinjo Ryuuki didn't actually exist.

Soon it was his turn, and with one last look at Britain, he dumped the floo powder and said, "Japan International!"

He spun through the network, glad he hadn't eaten anything that morning, elbows tucked firmly into his sides as the sign suggested, hoping that the torture would be over soon and that he wouldn't fall flat on his face in spectacular fashion when he was spat out in Japan.

Unfortunately fate decided to have fun and Harry came barrelling out of the fireplace headfirst and was forced into a combat roll more commonly utilised when trying to avoid getting shot in the ass. He cleared the soot with a wave of his wand and raised his head to see the entire room frozen in place and gawping at him. He quickly gave a half shrug and a sheepish smile, and dodged out of there as fast as he could, before stopping further down the corridor to perform a translating charm on his glasses so that he could read the signs telling him where to apparate from.

Before long, he'd found where he needed to go and apparated to the flat that had been set up for him. It was one of many muggle apartments in a rather high tower, and Harry whistled in appreciation as he saw the view from the floor to ceiling windows leading out to his own private balcony. The sun was low in the sky and the view of the Tokyo skyline was beautiful. It was a shame that he probably wouldn't be spending very much time here.

Mindful of the time, and that he only had 10 minutes to get ready if he wanted to avoid being late, he quickly dumped his miniature trunk onto the bed. Waving his wand, he transfigured his wizarding robes into a sharp muggle suit, and made his way into the bathroom.

Standing in front of the mirror he contemplated his face. If this Kira needed a name and a face, he wouldn't be getting either. He needed to change his facial structure so that nobody knew what he looked like. Generally these transfigurations could last up to ten days; Harry's were more like 15 or 16 days, but he would be reapplying it every week or so to be sure. He carefully made his eyes look slightly more Japanese, and made his nose slightly smaller. Grimacing slightly at his reflection, he decided to make his jaw slightly less square and raise his cheekbones. It wasn't much better, but he figured he could pass as half Asian at least, and the changes were simple enough for him to remember. He kept his eye colour the same, not liking the itchy feeling that charms leave on the eyeballs, and his hair was the same colour, only slightly longer and covering his eyes. He was never able to change anything about his hair except the length; it being somewhat resistant to magic for some reason that he'd probably never know.

Looking at his new face in the mirror, it had to be said that he didn't actually look too bad, and without the shadows under his eyes he wouldn't look nearly so washed out.

Nodding to himself, he replaced his wand into the undetectable holster on his forearm, quickly made his way to the underground parking that came with the apartment, and found the car that had also been arranged prior to his arrival. It was inconspicuous at first glance but Harry, or Ryuuki as his first name was now, knew that there were a few magical tricks hidden in there, including enchantments preventing the thought of stealing his car even entering someone's mind in the first place. Didn't work so well on wizards, but it worked wonders on the muggles. Inside the car he found an ID pack, which had his alias filled in already, and would record a passport type photo of his face as soon as he touched it.

Ten minutes later, and the best drive of his life, he was at the NPA headquarters, having decided he liked driving in Tokyo, and to possibly submit a request to buy this car after the case was finished. He walked up to the reception desk and showed them his ID and was directed in turn to a busy room full of people rushing about waving files and wearing headsets.

"Hey, are you the guy that transferred from Okinawa? Kinjo Ryuuki was it?" came an excited voice to his left as he stood watching everything, and the voice carried on without waiting for a reply. "Hi! I'm Matsuda Touta! Pleased to meet you!"

Ryuuki turned to see a man perhaps a couple of years older than he was bouncing on the balls of his feet, with a huge grin.

"Uhm, hi, yes I'm Kinjo Ryuuki, the guy from Okinawa. Pleased to meet you," he replied, dragging his hair over his scar in a nervous gesture. "So this is where it's all happening? Can you bring me up to date, or is there someone I should speak to first?"

Matsuda scanned the room. "We should probably let the Chief know you're here, but he's on the phone right now. He'll be done soon though, but until then I guess you could come over to my desk!"

Ryuuki nodded and followed Matsuda to a small desk filled with papers, staying quiet as Matsuda kept talking. "This is my desk, a bit cluttered I know, but criminals are dying everywhere, and people are panicking and calling in saying they've seen Kira, and we've even had crazy people calling us to that that they are Kira themselves! It's just silly; everyone knows the real Kira wouldn't just call us! We have to make a file for them all anyway though, and it's my job to check their backgrounds. Ah, there's the Chief now, HEY CHIEF!"

An older man with greying hair looked over to Matsuda, and made his way across the room to where they were standing.

"Yes Matsuda? Ah, you must be Kinjo Ryuuki. Yagami Soichiro, but just call me Chief like everyone else round here. It's a pleasure to meet you. If you'll come with me I'll have to take copies of your ID and make sure it all checks out before I can fill you in on what's been happening."

Ryuuki nodded and left Matsuda with his paperwork, hearing a loud "see you later Kinjo-san!" and turning to give a small wave and a shaky smile in return. He followed the Chief to a tidy office.

"Don't mind Matsuda, he might be rather... enthusiastic but he's a damn good shot. He lacks proper experience, though." Ryuuki sat down in the only chair available, in front of the desk, finding it rather strange to be on this side of the desk again. "It says here you've had training, but it doesn't say what you've been trained in and by who, can you explain this?"

Harry leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees, and an apologetic expression on his face as he spoke quietly. "Well, a few years ago I spent some time overseas, and that's really all I'm allowed to say about it. I signed legal documents stating that without permission I can't disclose any information to any outside party, even if a gun is held to my head. There is nothing untoward occurring on my part; I'm just legally not allowed to tell you."

The Chief looked carefully at him over the top of the file he was holding, and he took his time before replying.

"I've come across cases like yours before in the police force, and every time I've checked them out I find roughly the same thing, very little history and these people don't tend to stay long. I'm going to take a guess, and you don't have to confirm or deny anything. I'm going to guess that you've had specialised military training somewhere, and that you are here to keep tabs on us for some reason or another, although you look a bit too young for that."

Harry looked out the window for a moment, before looking the Chief in the eye.

"I can honestly say that my previous experience has no bearing whatsoever on my presence here today, and that I honestly want to join the taskforce and bring this Kira in. If it came down to it, my skills could come in useful, but it would have to be a life or death situation, otherwise I could be in quite a bit of trouble. It's not right what Kira's doing, and it looks like the only thing stopping Kira from targeting innocent people is that he seems to think he's doing the world a favour." He kept his eyes locked with the Chiefs, willing him to believe him.

"Well, we've never had trouble with any of the others in your situation, and they've been hard workers. I trust my instincts here, and they're telling me that you're a good man. I have a warning for you though; we are not the only ones here investigating Kira. L himself has taken on the investigation as you've no doubt heard, and I doubt he'll be happy with the little background information you have."

Internally Ryuuki froze, realising that nobody had factored in the mystery detective actually wanting to know more than basic information. He supposed it made sense to make sure the investigation team wasn't hiding anything, but he was hiding something huge and the detective would probably catch on to the fact that something was off. If he added false information now, the Chief would know. In the few instances of working with the muggle police in the rare case that there was a magical serial killer targeting muggles, it had been within a short time frame and the main aim was to stop the police from finding out the method used and to be on hand to call in the Obliviators when necessary to keep the magical world safe from discovery. If a magical person died, the goblins were the first to know who would then alert the appropriate Ministry department, and things were mostly taken care of before the muggles even knew someone had died. Good thing really, as purebloods didn't have muggle records.

In this case, it was already extremely public and he had no idea what he was dealing with. Possibly a magical artefact has been found, and is now in muggle hands? He was looking at possibly spending months in Japan, searching for a serial killer whilst trying not to raise the suspicion of this L character, and if L ever found out he was a wizard, he'd be number one suspect.

"You're right Chief, but I'm not really sure what I can do about it. I suppose I'll just have to see what happens. Can you fill me in on what's been found so far?"

The Chief leaned back in his chair, folding his arms, and sighed. "To be frank, we don't have much. We know that Kira somehow kills his victims by heart attack, but we don't know how. We know he needs a person's name and face to kill, because those whose names are misspelled in the media don't die. We also believe that Kira can set the time and date of death, and that he has access to police information. Mainly we just need help putting the information into the systems, putting it in order to try and make sense of it all."

Ryuuki's eyes were as wide as they could get in their transfigured state, barely able to believe what he was hearing.

"And this is all confirmed, Chief?"

The Chief looked at him squarely.

"Yes. That is the information we have. L also suspects that Kira may be a student. When that information was made viewable to the police via the database, the pattern changed from being mostly outside student hours to being one criminal on the hour, every hour. L deduced from that information that Kira could control time of death, and that his suspicion of Kira being a student was correct, and that somehow he has access to the police databases."

The Chief gave him a long look.

"You must be very tired after your long journey Kinjo-san, you should go home and rest, and we'll see you in the morning at 8, and we'll get you started."

Ryuuki gave an uneasy smile and said, "Thanks Chief, although I do have to wonder, Kira must either be trying to throw us off track because L got it right, or he's taunting us, or perhaps both. Either way he made a mistake, and if he keeps making mistakes then we're sure to find him soon."

"That's what we're all hoping Kinjo-san. Go home, get some rest, and we'll see you in the morning."

Both men stood up and bowed to each other, before leaving the office. Ryuuki waved back to Matsuda, who had spotted them leaving, and made his way back out of the building, heading for where he parked his car.

Yawning, he pulled out of the car park and headed for a row of shops likely to sell food that he'd seen earlier on his way to the NPA.

He parked the car, and walked straight past the first two restaurants when he saw what the people sitting at the window were eating. It almost didn't look edible, but people were eating it, and he didn't think he'd find anything suitable in there.

The next place however, looked to be a sweet shop or a bakery of some sort. This looked to at least have something he could class as food until he could ask Hermione what he could eat that wouldn't make him throw up violently. She tended to know obscure things like this, having travelled to many different countries with her parents. He'd have to find something soon if he wanted to pass off as being at least part Japanese.

Sure enough, he could recognise cake when he saw it. The shop was empty apart from one customer, an elderly gentleman standing at the counter. The shop smelled fantastic and Ryuuki found himself leaning down staring through the glass at a strawberry cheesecake like he'd never seen food before, not having eaten since breakfast the day before in England. He hadn't quite realised how hungry he was.

"Ah, I apologise, but the lady who works behind the counter is filling my rather large order I'm afraid. It shouldn't be too much longer I hope."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ryuuki looked up startled from where he'd leaned forward to ogle the normal looking cheesecake and froze, the man before him also seeming to freeze.

"It's alright sir, I've waited this long, and I'm sure I can wait a little while longer."

The two stood in an awkward silence, Ryuuki growing more awkward with every glance shot his way from the man next to him. Eventually he couldn't stand it and spoke up.

"Are you alright sir? You look a bit flustered," he asked, hoping it would be enough of a hint.

"Ah, nothing at all, it's nothing important anyway, you just reminded me very much of someone I know. I apologise for staring." The man did seem to be sincerely apologetic, and Ryuuki waved it off.

"No worries, but you did have me wondering. Hey, your order really must be huge to be taking this long, is someone having a party?" Ryuuki asked, carrying on the conversation for lack of anything better to do.

"Actually no, an acquaintance of mine has a rather large sweet tooth, and I'm picking these up for him."

Shuffling was heard form the back room of the shop, and soon a flustered looking woman appeared with four plastic bags.

"Here you are sir, I'll just need to go back for the other two," she said, looking at the old man.

"No problem," the old man said, and he smiled at the woman who returned it. It was then that she noticed Ryuuki standing there.

"Oh I'm sorry, what would you like? If it's nothing too large I can get it while I'm back there!" she asked, glancing almost reproachfully at the old man.

Ryuuki, who was still scraping his lower jaw off the floor at the amount being bought for _one man,_ could only stutter, "Just a strawberry cheesecake, if you've got any left..." almost forlornly.

"Don't worry, you're in luck. I'll have it boxed and brought out for you," she chirped, and with that, she disappeared back into the depths of the shop.

"I apologise once again, I hope this doesn't hold you up for long," Ryuuki said, pulling his hair over his scar.

"It's quite alright; compared to how long these orders usually take to fill, I'm sure it won't be long at all. You're lucky there's still strawberry cheesecake left actually, it tends to be his favourite. I often have to either pre-order, or visit several shops to find the requested amount," said the old man with what looked to be a fond smile. He obviously cared a lot for the sweet monster.

"You're actually telling me he eats this much sugar on a regular basis? I didn't think it was actually possible to burn that many calories!" Ryuuki exclaimed in surprise.

"You'd be surprised..." muttered the old man as the woman returned with their orders.

"Here you go sirs! This one's... yours," she said, handing one of the bags to Ryuuki, "and the other two here are the rest of your order sir."

The old man handed over a credit card, and Ryuuki found himself relieved that he wouldn't hear exactly how much the man's order had cost. It was probably a small fortune. He dug out the necessary money for his cheesecake and placed it on the counter. Glancing at the number of bags the other man had to deal with, he made a quick decision.

"Do you need help with those bags sir? I honestly don't mind."

The old man paused for a moment, and replied, "I wouldn't like to trouble you, and it's not far to where I've parked."

"If you didn't just tell me you had a car, I'd be offering you a lift home with that many bags. Come on, if it's not far then it's even less trouble for me, and if anything it can be my good deed for the day," Ryuuki insisted with a cheeky smile.

"I can tell I'm not going to win this argument, you're one of those stubborn ones aren't you. Well fortunately for you I'm experienced in these matters and know a lost cause when I see one. I'm parked just round the corner," said the old man, picking up four of the bags and making his way to the door. Ryuuki quickly grabbed the remaining bags and hurried to open the door.

"Ah, thank you, that could have been awkward. It seems that your help was needed after all young man."

Ryuuki huffed out a laugh and mumbled, "No problem."

The walk round the corner was silent, and Ryuuki found himself half expecting the sight of the limousine when he saw it. It fit somehow.

"Thank you for your help...?"

"Ryuuki! Uhm, Kinjo Ryuuki. I'm just glad I could help. I hope your friend doesn't have you trawling Tokyo for you more sweets for a least a month, I mean, this is enough to send the average man into a diabetic coma!"

"Well I wouldn't say he's all that average, really," the main commented absently, gesturing to place the sweets into the footwell at the front passenger side of the car.

"I'd ask your name in return sir, but unfortunately I think we're in a time where the simple curiosity of a person's name could raise questions, if not be outright dangerous," Ryuuki said sadly. "I gladly offer my own, but I won't be asking. I don't think it will be long before names are taboo if this carries on." Suddenly Ryuuki was forcibly reminded that he was also _Harry_, who had fought _He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,_ and it struck him that the last name that had been under taboo had been Voldemort. If they weren't careful, and didn't catch this Kira, even the innocent would be too afraid to say their own or their families' names. It wouldn't take long for criminals to get themselves fake names and documents. Instead of one maniac that had people too terrified to even think his name, there was one maniac who would have people terrified to use their own or their loved ones' names. Already he felt bad for even thinking of asking this man's name, like it would be disrespectful.

The old man was alarmed at the sudden change that had overcome the young man, and asked if he was alright.

"Yes. It's just really sad; Kira might think he's cleaning up the world by getting rid of all the criminals, but they'll just find other ways. All he's doing is making the world an even scarier place for everyone else. I'm sure he'd be dancing to a different tune if it was him on the other side of that kind of power. He'd probably be at the front of the mob, carrying the biggest pitchfork. Anyway, I'm off home with my cheesecake, before my stomach thinks that my throat's been cut! It's a pleasure to have met you." With that, Ryuuki bowed to the man, who collected himself and gave a bow in return. By the time the old man had straightened, the young man was already moving swiftly back the way they'd just come.

The old man sighed to himself, saddened by Kinjo Ryuuki's words. It was strange how much the pleasant man resembled his charge, and it was strange to see such open expressions on a face so similar. There had been one other who had looked like his charge, and he'd always been rather psychotic in his behaviour. Even this man's name was similar to an alias that both his ward and his psychotic double had used, and in fact he was sure that his ward had already decided to use the alias 'Ryuuzaki' for this case.

Sliding into the driver's seat, the old man put on a wireless headset and called the only number stored on this certain phone.

"I'm just leaving the shop now; I shall be back within the quarter hour."

"_Understood Watari. Any problems?"_

"No, I purchased everything that you requested. I did meet a rather nice young man however."

"_Explain." _

"He was just in the same shop; he came in while I was waiting for your order to be filled, and I was rather startled to note that he looks an awful lot like you, except for his eyes. He has bright emerald green eyes. He asked if I was alright, and apologised for startling me, and ordered a strawberry cheesecake."

"_Did he tell you his name?"_

"As a matter of fact he did. That was also rather interesting. If I'm not wrong, he's rather intelligent but doesn't think much of himself. He gave his name and said that he wouldn't be asking for mine, as it would be disrespectful of him with the Kira situation. He said that he'd gladly give his own, but wouldn't ask someone to give away anything that would put them in danger."

"_His name, Watari."_

"Kinjo Ryuuki he said, I apologise for getting ahead of myself, but he looked a lot like you, and he seemed like a good soul."

"_What if I were to tell you I've not long finished reading a suspiciously thin file about this same man. He must have been driving home from being introduced to Yagami-san. I was contacted by Yagami-san not long after Kinjo-san left the NPA building."_

"Oh dear, that doesn't sound good. Am I likely to be in danger? I am almost positive I am not being followed, but I will be evasive regardless."

"_He arrived in Tokyo earlier today, transferred to the NPA from a station in Okinawa. He requested the transfer a week ago, and it has been processed too quickly for it to be normal procedure. Apparently he has received some form of specialised training that he is not legally allowed to discuss. I shall be requesting that he receive permission to tell me from whoever is enforcing his silence." _The detective paused before continuing._ "For a moment I wondered if I was either looking at a picture of myself or Beyond, but then I noticed his eyes. I must say that I don't think I've ever seen that particular shade of green." _

"Rather startling in person. He was non-threatening, and pleasant to a fault. I noticed that he has a habit of tugging the front part of his hair over his eyes when he is nervous, so bear that in mind."

"_If he is at all suspicious, he will be one of those who remain after those with too much to lose have left. From what information we have I think we will both be seeing a lot more of this Kinjo Ryuuki. I will bear that gesture in mind; I will be questioning everyone who stays behind personally so hopefully he won't find anything too odd."_

"I sincerely hope there's nothing wrong about him, my instincts are telling me that he is a good man, and I've rarely been wrong. I'm certain that he has no idea that I'm associated with you, but I did mention that the sweets were for my friend who has a sweet tooth. I'm almost there, and I've positive I'm not being followed."

"_I shall see you soon Watari."_

With that, the line was disconnected.

The next day was extremely busy for Ryuuki, and his fingers were tingling from the amount of background information he'd had to type into the computers that day. The NPA was in chaos, and truthfully most of the people working there seemed rather afraid, and this affected their ability to do their job. He'd been introduced to a few people by Matsuda when there had been breaks, but he could already tell that most wouldn't see the investigation to the end. It was likely that most of these people would see their lives as being too high a price to pay, and back out of the investigation completely.

He'd spoken to Ron and Hermione briefly the night before via three way mirrors that Ryuuki himself had looked up the enchantments for and worked on in honour of Sirius, and passed on what information he had gained so far from talking to the Chief. Both had been disturbed and had urged Ryuuki to be extra careful. The three of them had had a good laugh over Ryuuki's new look, which had thoroughly embarrassed Harry, especially when Hermione had teased him for looking so "Dark and mysterious!" and had asked him if that's what he'd been aiming for. With his face bright red, Ryuuki had mumbled that no he wasn't, his face had just turned out that way, and had distracted them both from their teasing by telling him about the old man in the sweet shop who had bought six bags full of sweets for a friend of his, and who apparently had a friend who looked a lot like his 'Ryuuki' disguise.

This had sent Ron and Hermione into fits of laughter, with Ron saying something along the lines of, "Well which one's the evil one, him or you?" and Hermione throwing in her two pence worth with, "Well if he's the one eating all those cakes, then it looks like you've turned yourself into his evil twin Ryuuki!" Ryuuki had glared, and Ron and Hermione quickly stopped laughing and apologised, saying that they just weren't used to his new look yet.

Ryuuki had once again tried to distract from the awkward moment by mentioning that apparently the sweet binge happened fairly often, which had sent Hermione into a long winded speech about muggle diabetes and the importance of oral hygiene, and Ron had an expression of awe on his face at the thought of one person being able to eat six bags of sweets and cakes before they went bad, with muggles not having the use of preservation charms, and not only that, but regularly.

Hermione had recommended that Ryuuki try some ramen and had told him that it's the thing she misses most about Japan, which cheered him up a bit since he didn't think he could survive on strawberry cheesecake.

Now that he was on the way back from the restaurant, he could safely say he'd found a Japanese dish he could survive on and he had the feeling that Hermione wouldn't be the only one missing the ramen when he returned to Britain. He only had to stop off at a supermarket or something similar before returning to the apartment, since he'd eaten the remains of the cheesecake that morning for breakfast, or else he wouldn't have anything for tomorrow morning.

He found a likely looking shop and was relieved to find a decent range of instant noodles, teabags, milk and fruit that he recognised, so he filled his basket, dumped in a newspaper for information purposes, and was soon driving towards his apartment, minus a few yen.

Reading the paper had been rather depressing, but Harry had decided that it would be a good idea to buy a daily subscription, seeing as how the muggle newspaper at least looked a good bit more reliable than the Daily Prophet ever was. If anything odd happened, hopefully he'd see it in the news. He phoned the delivery office and was assured that his subscription would start the next day since he was paying in advance over the phone, and that the paper would be delivered sometime between 6 and 7am.

That night Ryuuki was too tired to dream, and he woke feeling much refreshed, in time to hear the morning paper come through the slot in the door. He lifted the paper and held it above his head as he yawned and stretched, stumbling towards the bathroom where he planned to take a shower.

It wasn't until he was eating his breakfast noodles that he noticed the headline, THREE MEN FOUND DEAD IN SUBWAYS – WAS IT KIRA?

Grabbing the newspaper and leaving the rest of his noodles, he rushed out of his apartment and quickly skimmed the article in the elevator. One man worked as a cleaner and had died whilst working, one man died after stepping off the train, and another was found dead sitting on the same train the second man had stepped out of.

As soon as Ryuuki arrived at the NPA building, he'd asked if the Chief had arrived, and was told that he was in his office. He hurried towards the office and knocked.

"Come in."

Peeking round the door, he asked if it was a good time, and the Chief nodded, before pointing to the seat in front of his desk, and shuffling a few papers aside.

"What can I do for you Kinjo?"

"Having read today's paper I'd like to request that I be allowed to research backwards through every copy of every newspaper in Tokyo, perhaps even magazines."

The Chief raised his eyebrows.

"I said yesterday that Kira makes mistakes Chief, and if he's as young as we think he is, he's likely already made at least one. It could be in a tiny article somewhere, worth reporting but not front page news. I want to search for anything at all that's odd, or out of place. Like this article here, it just doesn't make sense, this is far too public, Kira must have had a reason," Ryuuki spilled out.

"Hold on a minute there Kinjo, pass me that paper."

Ryuuki passed over the paper as the Chief read the article.

"I think you're right. It's worth a shot, so yes, call up the newspapers and have them email you copies of every newspaper printed since the 28th November, good work Kinjo, I hope you find something."

"Thanks Chief, I hope so too."

As soon as Ryuuki left the Chiefs office, the Chief picked up the phone he had been given, and pressed the call button.

"_Good morning Yagami-san,"_ said the distorted voice.

"Good morning. I'll get straight to business. One of the men read this mornings' newspaper and came to me with a request to be allowed to obtain copies of every Tokyo newspaper since the incidents started. He noticed that the three deaths yesterday were out of character, and likely had a purpose. He also stated when I first met him that Kira had made mistakes, and further stated today that if Kira is a student as suspected, that he has likely made more errors, perhaps something small that is 'worth reporting but not front page news' as he put it. I know a good idea when I see one, so he's working on it now."

"_Good. Have him type up the details of anything interesting. Who are we talking about?"_

"Kinjo Ryuuki."

"_Alright. Thank you for this information, and notify me immediately if a lead is found."_

"Understood."

"_Goodbye Yagami-san."_

It was 8pm and Ryuuki had worked practically non-stop since that morning. On a whim he had recorded every death that had been reported as something other than old age. He'd gotten as far as December 10th, and at this rate it would be another couple of days before he was finished, hopefully before the New Year. He had a few names, mainly of people killed in traffic accidents, and only one of those people had turned out to be a criminal.

"Kinjo!"

"Huh?" Ryuuki mumbled as he turned round. "Chief? Something wrong?" he asked, trying to shake the cobwebs from his brain.

"Only that you're still working, and it's past eight o'clock. You should go home, you look like you could use some sleep. I take it you haven't found anything, and it'll still be waiting in the morning, along with a bunch of fresh papers," replied the Chief, raising his eyebrows.

"I decided to write down every reported death excluding those from old age, but I've only found one so far who had a criminal record, and the crime was relatively minor, nothing that warrants a death sentence. I'm not sure if it's just a coincidence, but he was killed the same night as Otoharada Kuro, the 28th November. I've looked through all the five major newspapers up to and including the 10th December." Ryuuki promptly let out a huge yawn.

"Right, save your work and get yourself home, like I said, it will still be here for you tomorrow," the Chief repeated sternly.

"Alright, alright," said Ryuuki with a tired grin, saving the files that were open and shutting down his machine. "I suppose I should be careful, I wouldn't want to be too sleepy to drive safely. Thankfully it's only ten minutes away so I should be fine."

"That's good to hear, now quit stalling and go home."

"Yes Chief!" he replied cheekily, and was waved off.

It was the next day around dinnertime when Ryuuki yelled out "HA!" and could be seen tapping furiously at his keyboard with a maniacal sort of glee on his face. Matsuda stood behind him practically shouting his fake name but Ryuuki was far too busy contemplating what he'd read, and thinking of ways to track down the other people who were on the bus, to remember something as stupid as his alias. Luckily there was a police report filed, a rather shoddy one at that, but there were two people's names, witnesses to what had happened. It was almost exactly the sort of thing he'd been looking for; December 20th, man enters bus, threatens the driver, starts hallucinating before shooting wildly, yells at the driver to stop, only to exit the bus face first into an oncoming car, killing him instantly. After pulling up all available data, he let out another "HA!" which made those around him twitch uncomfortably and the room to become silent as people started wondering what was going on. Ryuuki sent the file straight to the Chief's email address and headed straight towards the coffee pot, still sporting a shite-eating grin on his face. Gradually everyone returned to their work; that was until a loud "HA!" could be heard coming from the Chief's office, as the Chief, with a grin of his own, hit the 'forward' button.

Half an hour later, the Chief quietly made his way to Ryuuki's desk, and whispered that since he'd found something interesting, that he could finish up for the day and come back tomorrow after a proper meal and a good night's rest.

"But Chief, there's more..." Seeing the look on the Chief's face, Ryuuki grimaced and decided to switch direction. "Ah, on second thoughts, home sounds rather nice. I'll see you tomorrow Chief!"

"I hope you have a good night Ryuuki, take care of yourself," said the Chief solemnly before heading back to his office.

Ryuuki checked his work before saving it all and shutting down the machine before gulping down the rest of his second cup of coffee, and grabbing his jacket. He waved goodbye to Matsuda, who had turned out to be a decent guy, although he was reminded of Neville Longbottom before he had grown a backbone, but boy what a backbone. Neville Longbottom was no longer shy and clumsy, but a force to be reckoned with; a true Gryffindor. He had a feeling that at some point in the future, Matsuda would have the potential for something similar. Perhaps he sensed a potential Gryffindor amongst the muggles.

Coming from Hogwarts, he couldn't really help but mentally sort those around him into the Houses he thought they'd fit best. The Chief had been mentally sorted as a Hufflepuff; he was obviously hard working and extremely loyal, and would likely see this investigation through to the end, even if it meant his death. He was extremely proud of his two children, and he loved his wife dearly. Then there was Gryffindor for Matsuda; like a cross between Colin Creevey and Neville Longbottom, he enthusiastically wanted to do the right thing, but let his nerves loosen his tongue and ended up looking like a fool for it. With confidence, and from what he'd heard about his marksmanship, Matsuda could have a very successful career. Another person he reckoned would stay until the end. As for everyone else, he didn't really know them well enough to judge.

Although there was one other he'd mentally sorted; L.

There was no way that man wasn't a Slytherin. He'd argue to his last breath if the Sorting Hat ever dared to say otherwise, although the chances of L and the Sorting Hat being in the same room were slim to none. He didn't need to meet L in person to know that he fit the mould. Sly, cunning, using any means to achieve his goals, ambitious (with being the best detective in the world and all), and Slytherins tended to be either centre stage or so deep in the shadows that you forget they're there. L was definitely the latter.

As he was walking through the car park towards his car, lost in thought, he was brought back to reality when his trained eyes saw shadows trailing him from the corner of his eye. He quickly came to one conclusion; and he didn't like it.

L.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Sneaky, sly, underhanded, ruthless, L. He could _really_ learn to hate that guy. He had no choice but to fight his instincts, and to allow himself to be captured, however they planned to do it. Nothing on his person was obviously magical; he had found a locket that used to belong to his mother when he had visited the family vaults, and inside it was the size of a school trunk. On the outside was an engraved lily. Kept safely inside was his broom, an emergency potions kit, two of the three Deathly Hallows, his most important magical possessions including the mirror he used to contact Ron and Hermione, and various gadgets for any investigating he could get away with on his own; not that it looked like that would be happening any time soon. It was magically sealed shut, and when L realised it didn't open, he could ask for it back on the grounds that it contained some of his parents' ashes or something. He was sure that wherever his parents were, they wouldn't mind his lie. It was partially the truth. His photo albums, the Marauders Map, the Invisibility Cloak, and his mothers' locket were all that he had left of parents that he couldn't remember. Yes, he would hate losing his locket, even for a short time.

They would possibly lock him in a room, and a muggle such as L didn't need a wand to hurt him. There would be no escape either until L released him, as he couldn't expose him to magic.

He almost couldn't contain his reaction as he felt a cloth bag being pulled over his head, and his arms pulled behind his back as they were handcuffed. He didn't bother struggling, or even yelling, just concentrating on breathing as he was pushed into a car that had just pulled up.

"_I apologise for the rough treatment Kinjo-san, but these precautions are necessary,"_ said an electronically scrambled voice that sounded awfully familiar.

"Aha! I knew it! L the detective is none other than KITT from Knightrider! Is that Bonnie in the driver's seat by any chance? Somehow I can't see there being a Michael."

There was a muffled cough from the front of the car, and prolonged silence from the scrambled voice, until;

"_I'm using a computer to speak with you."_

"Wow. That put me in my place." Another muffled cough.

"_Enough. You'll find that this is no laughing matter." _

"Actually I'll have to disagree with you there. Well I'll agree a tiny bit I suppose, with there being no laughter whatsoever involved so far. I'll assume however that you meant that this was no _joking_ matter since I have perhaps tried to crack a couple – with very little success I might add – but this being a laughing matter was the only option available to me at the time."

"_Explain."_

"Well, I saw two options. One option involved cracking a couple of spontaneous jokes for my own sanity, the other option didn't sit well with me."

"_What was your other option?"_

"Well, it's rather embarrassing I suppose, but I get bonus points for not actually doing it right? Ah sorry, I forgot that humour bothers you. Well my other option was to hurt as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, yelling as loudly as possible. Sitting here right now cracking jokes is my way of not throwing an epic tantrum."

There was a longer pause. L was probably wondering about his sanity.

"_You are being moved to a secure location where clothes will be provided."_

Ryuuki gave a deep sigh. "Absolutely fantastic. In other words, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, and you're going to lock me up and question me until you're satisfied. I'm not going to get my stuff back any time soon, and I'm going to be completely miserable. Meanwhile you get to see a man be driven insane first hand. With the tiny fact that I'm not Kira, I'm beginning to feel rather picked on."

"_If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. You will be arriving soon. We shall resume our chat when you are more comfortable."_

"That's terribly unfair of you since you know fine well that I have plenty to hide, and I assure you that none of it has anything to do with Kira." Ryuuki was mentally kicking himself, hoping he could come across as being honestly unable to share details, which he was. Truthfully he was panicking at the thought of being in a dank grey cell with no windows and terrible meals. It wasn't a situation he wanted to deal with any time soon. "I'm not likely to come out of this in one piece; I'm really not good with confinement."

"_You exaggerate. You are under slight suspicion, and will be released when there is conclusive proof that you are not Kira."_

"How do I know that? From the moment I entered this car any information is controlled by you. I could be in there for weeks, with Kira carrying on killing criminals, and you'd just argue that Kira can control the time of death and that I could have set it up," Ryuuki's shoulders slumped and he sighed. "Can you truthfully give me your word that when criminals I could have had no knowledge of die, I will be released? I might get on better if there's an ending somewhere in sight. I understand why you suspect me; after all nobody here knows me, my file has holes in it, I have secrets, and I specifically requested to help with this case, but when you find out that I'm definitely innocent, I want out. It's not fair to lock up an innocent man, that's not justice."

There was a long silence and the Ryuuki felt the car come to a halt, and the driver step out, closing the door.

"_I give you my word."_

"In that case I suppose I'll be finding out first hand, just how much your word is worth," Ryuuki said quietly, just before the door beside him opened.

Still blindfolded and restrained, Ryuuki felt a gentle grip on his arm guiding him into a building. There was no noise except the echo of their footsteps, and Ryuuki thought that the building was probably entirely empty. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if that were the case and L himself was somewhere far away from here.

He was led to a room, where the scrambled voice told him that once his associate had left the room, Ryuuki was to poke his bound hands out of the slot in the door, where his associate would then unlock his wrists. Then he would be free to remove the thing covering his head.

"Alright L, I'm still playing nice," he grumbled, blindly fumbling with the slot in the door.

Soon Ryuuki was practically gasping the cooler air as he removed the cloth sack from his head and took stock of his surroundings. It was pretty much what he expected really; a standard, grey, windowless box of a room with a plain grey single bed in the corner. Thankfully he spotted a bathroom off to the side. It had that 'new' smell, and he guessed that this room hadn't existed for very long.

"I take it there are cameras everywhere including the bathroom; microphones too I suppose."

"_Correct."_

"Ah, well that's rather embarrassing. Who exactly will be seeing any of this?" Ryuuki asked, pacing in what little space he had, tugging his hair over his scar.

"_Only myself and one other, assuming that you are in fact innocent."_

"Good to know. Only two people will ask awkward questions. Brilliant. I don't like this L, I really don't! I really shouldn't be in here. At least I can say it's the best place I've ever been kidnapped to; there are no bloodstains on the floor, there are no chains on the walls, there's actually a toilet that probably works, and I doubt you'll forget to feed me," he said casually, although his hands were jerkily gesturing around the room as he spoke. At this point Ryuuki was trying very hard to block out the images of the times he had been kidnapped by rogue Death Eaters. "You won't will you?" Ryuuki was almost ashamed of how his voice was beginning to sound, but he honestly didn't think he could help it. If anything, his anxiety would only get worse.

"_You will have enough food. I suggest you take a shower; there are towels and a change of clothes for you in the bathroom. Please put everything you are wearing into the empty box provided, and I do mean everything, including your glasses and any piercings or jewellery. What do you normally eat?"_

"Yes, for we must all beware of the killer glasses. I know, I know, we don't know what the weapon is so you have to be sure, therefore I have to be practically blind for a while." Ryuuki looked into the bathroom, and sure enough there was a change of clothes. He could see what looked like a white long sleeved t-shirt and loose black trousers. The outfit reminded him of pyjamas, but seeing that he wouldn't be leaving the room, he figured it wouldn't matter. "As for food, I eat ramen, instant noodles and fruit. Mostly apples, bananas and strawberries. I eat most desserts also but I doubt that information would be of any use to you."

The voice was quiet as Ryuuki slowly took his locket out from under his jumper, his breathing affected again at the thought of voluntarily taking it off. The Death Eaters had tried everything except beheading him to try and get if off of him. He had the scars round his neck to prove it. It could only be removed voluntarily by the wearer.

"L..." he said quietly. There was no answer.

"L?" Perhaps he was only slightly panicked.

"_I am here... Just... Rather busy is all."_

Ryuuki swore he heard multiple plopping and splashes in the background, and he was desperately trying to think of a solution that didn't involve L sitting on a toilet somewhere, staring at him through a laptop or something. That was just... No, he really was going to have to ask. He had to know.

"I really hope those weren't toilet noises L," stated Ryuuki flatly, before removing his turtleneck.

There was a long pause, and Ryuuki figured L really wasn't the type to find humour in anything. Ever. Perhaps the man had never been forced to create his own happiness like Ryuuki had. Either way, if L didn't find a sense of humour, and fast, he was going to get very bored in this cell, very quickly, which would lead to him thinking about memories he'd been trying to bury for years.

"_Sugar cubes. Kinjo-san... What on Earth has happened to you?"_

Here was the question he had been dreading since figuring out that he was being confined.

"I... would rather not discuss it in detail with you. I don't even know you, and in fact you're the only person that will have seen the full extent, other than the... doctors that tried to fix me. Your assistant too I suppose. Even my friends don't really know many of the details and I've known them since I was eleven," he said quietly, knowing that it wouldn't be enough for the detective.

"_The whole point of you being here is for me to ask you questions. You will need to remove that locket."_

"Yes, I know you have questions," he said, rolling his eyes, "But events that happened years ago have nothing to do with the Kira case. My answers are simply not relevant, and if I didn't know any better, I'd think that you are simply used to getting your own way, and are looking to satisfy your own curiosity. In fact, it could be interesting to keep this up, even if it's just to see what you'll do..." he trailed off, picking up the locket that rested on his breastbone.

"L..."

"_Yes Kinjo-san?"_

"This locket..."

"_Must also be put in the box."_

Ryuuki jerked his head up, looking for a camera. Finding one above the mirror, he walked up to it, looking squarely into the lens.

"You don't understand," he said fiercely, "and I doubt you care, but this locket is something that has stayed with me since I first laid my hand on it. It is the singular most important item I own, or will ever own. It means more to me than you could ever know. It contains all that is left of my parents, but it doesn't open. It's fused shut. You must keep it safe for me!"

A mere two floors above Ryuuki's cell, L sat staring at the monitors in front of him, stunned into silence as he watched Kinjo Ryuuki, almost his twin in looks if nothing else, as he reached behind his neck and unclasped the locket. He clenched it in his fist for a moment before laying it carefully onto his jumper, which was already in the box. It was only then that Kinjo looked away.

He was absolutely covered in scars; his neck looked like he'd had a serious case of rope burn, his chest and back had been sliced to ribbons, and the scars didn't stop at his waistline. The man's wrists were also covered in scar tissue – possible evidence of having been restrained for a considerable length of time. It was impossible for L to look away; each scar observed and recorded meticulously – and there were many, far too many – with possible causes attributed to each, the most recent scars looking to be between 18 and 24 months old.

Finishing his bite of cake and recovering slightly, he leaned forwards and pressed a button on the microphone in front of him.

"Kinjo-san, your locket will be kept as safe as possible. I have a secure storage area. I will leave you to your shower. However, we shall be continuing this discussion later. Please leave the box beside the door."

L watched as Kinjo rolled his eyes and sighed, and without taking his eyes off the screen another forkful of cake found its way into his mouth.

"_You're the boss, apparently." _

With that, Kinjo smirked cheekily at the camera before removing the rest of his clothes and dumping them in the box, with a lingering glance towards his locket, before scooping up the box and heading towards the door.

He'd been right; Kinjo's legs were just as scarred. The last body L had seen with that many cuts had been a dead one.

"_Oh right, glasses too... You cruel, cruel man. I'm blind as a deaf bat without these things."_

It was said jokingly, like everything else that had come out of the man's mouth, though L could see that every little thing taken from this man was affecting him badly on a deeper level than he was being shown. Were jokes and laughter really this man's answer to everything? He obviously had the intellect to back him up, or else he wouldn't have caught his interest, but how on Earth could a man with so many scars on his person still smile and joke as much as he did? Or was every happy gesture just part of an elaborate mask he put on to fool people into believing he was fine, hoping that people would see the fake smile and not dig deeper?

Kinjo was in the shower, so L pushed the button for Watari and instructed him to retrieve the box, and bring it straight up.

Watari brought in the box and placed it in front of L.

"He is not Kira, L."

L carefully reached in and grasped the locket, which was still warm, especially to L's icy fingers, and inspected it carefully; absently noting that it was probably worth a lot of money, not that he thought Kinjo would care. Sure enough, it was fused shut, although he dreaded to think of what the last of Kinjo's parents actually consisted of. At worst, somehow he'd open it and get a face full of remains, at best, he'd lock it up, nothing would happen to it, and Kinjo wouldn't go insane and somehow end up finding him and maiming him at the very least. After seeing how serious the man was about his locket, he wouldn't put it past him. He got the feeling that Kinjo had a perfectly good reason to be so complacent. He was well aware that Kinjo had allowed himself to be caught, and L was rather wary of just what the man was capable of.

"I am aware of this Watari, but we may not be the only ones searching for Kira's weapon. In fact I can guarantee it. It is obvious that a weapon of some description exists; otherwise Kira wouldn't have felt it necessary to kill all of those FBI agents. The only reason I can think of that fits, is that Kira has something to hide, and it is likely that it will end up being the method used for the murders. For all we know, Kinjo could be reporting back to someone else on our findings, who will then swoop in to take the weapon at the first opportunity for their own use, leaving us back at the beginning. They would also have the benefit of having Kira's mistakes to learn from. This case needs resolved, and the weapon disposed of if possible. It is not so much Kinjo-san that worries me, but those who have sent him here."

"I agree with you completely on all points, but I will caution you to be aware of Kinjo-san's mental wellbeing. Due to our lack of knowledge on his past, we may be doing great harm, and he has been nothing but helpful towards us."

Watari took the box from L and started the usual checks. Kinjo was still in the shower, and hadn't said a word.

"For all we know, Kinjo-san was rescued from his kidnappers by these people, and therefore feels obliged to aid them," said L, staring blankly towards the wall. "When you have finished Watari, Kinjo-san will require ramen and strawberry cheesecake. He will be eating in here. I think it would be safe to say that he is definitely not Kira; therefore it would do us no immediate harm to bring him up here. I would like you to keep your face hidden from him however. I would like to see how quickly he realises who you are."

Watari nodded slowly.

"Understood," he replied, opening his mouth again as if to continue speaking, but he changed his mind. A few minutes later he spoke.

"No devices were found in his clothes, and his glasses are too fragile to have devices installed. His watch is a sealed unit, with no indentations or scratches to suggest that it has ever been opened. Nothing hidden in his shoes either," he stated.

L shuffled over to a table full of sweets, and picked up a metal skewer, absentmindedly plucking sweets out of their bowls between forefinger and thumb and piercing them with his skewer as he spoke.

"That isn't what you wished to say Watari. Although it may not seem like it at times, I do place a high value on your opinions and instincts. Usually there's just the two of us, and it has been this way between us for a long time, but soon I shall show my face. Things will change, and we will not be able to be as open with each other. I value your opinion now more than ever."

Watari directed a smile towards his ward, knowing that coming from L, this was the equivalent of a standing ovation.

"Thank you L, I can honestly say it's been a pleasure." Watari poured himself a cup of tea as he gathered his thoughts.

"Potential involvement with an outside organisation aside, I can't help but question his motives for taking on this case, given what he has been through," began Watari. L gave him a sharp look. Watari continued, "You can see it yourself. I severely doubt he would have been pressured into coming here at his age, and it's obvious to anyone to cares to look below the surface that his happiness is a mask. I think we only got a small glimpse of his true self when he spoke about his locket earlier, and the boy practically radiates pain. The more I observe him, the less I see a suspect, and the more I see a person in desperate need of help. I'm not sure that putting him back in that room would be a good idea."

"You're saying that if he's not already unstable, he's close to it, so therefore should be handled with caution, otherwise I may inadvertently worsen his mental stability," observed L, dropping a truffle into his mouth.

"More like handled with _care_, L, he's a person, not an explosive," Watari said, frowning slightly.

"Watari, I have a feeling that Kinjo-san can be extremely explosive when he wants to be."

Watari sighed, and finished his tea before standing. "You may be right. I shall be back shortly."

Watari bowed and exited the room.

L felt a weight in his hand, and looking down, he realised that he still held the locket, and that the hand that held it didn't feel as cold. Sighing, and glancing over towards the monitors, he saw that Kinjo had finished his shower, and was sitting on the bed with one towel wrapped round his waist, and the other madly scrubbing at his hair. He hadn't heard anything suspicious, but he'd have to check visually to be sure.

L waited impatiently until Kinjo was dressed, and as soon as the second towel had joined the first in a heap on the floor, L pressed the relevant button.

"How did you receive that scar on your forehead Kinjo-san?"

L would admit that he was almost amused when Kinjo jumped violently until he remembered Watari's words.

"My apologies Kinjo-san. It was not my intent to startle you."

"_Don't _do_ that! At least, oh I don't know, knock or something?" _

"Why is it shaped like a lightning bolt?" L watched curiously as Kinjo's face closed off, his expression becoming stony.

"_It has no bearing on this case, and I would rather not answer. It's not something I like to speak about."_

"What were your parents' first names?" L tried, just in case. He watched as Kinjo pushed himself off the bed and started pacing in the little space available to him.

"_I... suppose since they are already dead... I can tell you that my mother's name was..."_ suddenly he stopped, and stared at the camera above the mirror again with a smirk as he continued, _"really pretty. It suited her." _Kinjo was now sporting a fully fledged grin on his face. L pushed aside his irritation with the strange miserable/happy man, by throwing a chocolate truffle into his mouth and chewing it viciously.

"_Nice try L, but I'm not that stupid. You're the world's top detective; obviously even my mother's name could lead you places I don't want anyone going. For your own sanity, I'd just avoid what's left on my mother's side. They hated me, and I hated them, so I left as soon as it was legal. Are you happy now? There's some juicy information for you." _

"Thank you Kinjo-san, this information will indeed be of use to me."

Kinjo snorted disbelievingly_. "How so?"_

"You do have living relatives, you grew up with them, and there are things about your life with them that you don't want anyone to find out, which implies that they didn't treat you properly. Either you were resourceful enough to have somewhere to go, or their treatment of you was bad enough that you didn't care. Either way, it gives me insight into you as a person, and helps me to build an accurate profile."

"_Ah... that's me told. I'm sure I don't like this. Why do you need to ask me so many questions if being locked up will prove my innocence? Once I'm out of here, whatever profile I happen to fit will no longer matter, and I honestly don't see the point of any questions dealing with anything beyond six months ago." _Kinjo was pacing slower now

"It is vitally important to have an accurate profile of everyone I work with. Soon Watari will return, and he will bring you to see me in person." Zooming in on Kinjo's face, he saw his green eyes widen before narrowing.

"_Somehow I don't see you as the type to work 'with' anyone, hence Bonnie being in the drivers' seat, and Michael not even getting a mention. It's more likely that everyone puts you on a pedestal and they end up working _for_ you, waiting for you to drip-feed their poor fragile little minds with information that they no longer feel the need to deduce on their own."_

A truffle paused on its journey to L's mouth. Interesting.

"_Why me? You suspect me of being Kira, and yet instead of meeting with the taskforce, you choose to meet with me instead?"_

"I no longer suspect you of being Kira."

Kinjo walked up to the camera above the mirror again.

"_So more criminals have died already?"_

"I have not checked since you were brought to this room."

"_Riiight, well I'm afraid you've lost me."_

"You no longer fit Kira's profile. Unfortunately you seem to fit quite snugly into a different profile. However, we shall discuss this in person shortly. If you hear footsteps, it will be Watari, and you shall not be restrained. I only ask that you treat him with respect."

"_Of course. Unless he tries something funny, in which case I reserve the right to defend myself in a spectacular display of awesomeness."_

L sighed in irritation, and pushed the button to speak. "That will be unnecessary Kinjo-san, I assure you; Watari would not harm you. He will be with you shortly. Ja ne, Kinjo-san."

"_Wait! Is my locket safe?"_ Kinjo asked rapidly, and L noticed that his eyes were wide, looking slightly frantic.

"It has not left my sight Kinjo-san." Kinjo was visibly relieved. He really did display his emotions openly.

"_Uhh, thanks, I guess. I'll just... wait on the bed then,"_ he said, walking towards the bed before sitting with his back against the wall, bringing his knees up to his chest and laying his forehead on his knees. L heard him sigh as he wrapped his arms around his legs.

Just then, he saw Watari pull into view on one of the outer cameras, and his phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out with forefinger and thumb as if it was contaminated, the probability of it being Watari calling him went from being 92% to 100% as a large gothic 'W' was displayed on the screen. L used his other forefinger to answer the call, and holding the top of the phone daintily a short distance from his ear, he waited.

"_I have returned as you can see, with no problems. Would you like me to bring Kinjo-san immediately?"_

"That would be appreciated Watari. I have a request... make that two requests."

He outlined his plan to Watari, who reluctantly agreed to do what he asked before L ended the call. Standing from his customary crouch at his desk, he stepped down off his chair and allowed himself to pace, absently bringing one of his thumbs to his mouth and nibbling slightly. Truthfully he was anxious. He allowed himself this short time to analyse his feelings, since he would soon be joined by others and therefore would have to mask his expressions. He absolutely _hated_ meeting people; he just wasn't any good at that sort of thing and so far he hadn't met anyone except Watari who didn't find _something_ to criticise him for. If it wasn't his clothes, it was his hair. If it wasn't his clothes or hair, it was his posture, or the way he sat, or the amount of sugar he ingested on an hourly basis.

It was strange, he reflected. People in general wished to be recognised for their individuality, and yet they expected everyone to conform to 'normal' standards?

He might be slightly odd to most people, but did they have to keep staring at him like he was an exhibit? So what if he hated shoes, and refused to wear socks? Shouldn't that be his choice?

This was one of the many reasons why he hid his every emotion, even from himself. The world wasn't fair, and that's all there was to it; it didn't _matter_ how he felt about anything. If anything, having feelings would just get in the way of him doing his job, and get him killed faster. He was just more suited for working from the shadows, travelling between hotels with no real home as such – just various secure storage facilities filled to the brim with technology – and consequently Watari was literally the only real person he interacted with face to face. He wasn't paranoid if they really were out to get him, after all; with this case distracting him, it would be the perfect time for a criminal organisation to steal the murder weapon, and attempt to kill the detective L in one fell swoop.

For some reason that didn't care to make itself known to him, he hoped that Kinjo-san didn't turn out to be anything like Beyond Birthday. His red-eyed serial-killing look-a-like was comfortably rotting in a maximum security prison and wouldn't be causing any more trouble, but he'd always known that Beyond was unstable, and he'd always been uncomfortable knowing that there was someone who imitated him for fun possibly wreaking havoc somewhere. Now here was someone else who resembled him (and consequently Beyond) greatly, and L hoped that Kinjo wouldn't cause as much trouble for him.

Then he wondered if there was perhaps a blue eyed look-a-like out there somewhere, or perhaps brown eyed.

As his pacing once again brought him past the monitors he saw that Watari had disguised himself and was currently heading towards Kinjo's cell, and would be there in less than a minute. Kinjo himself was still sitting in the same position, and L was again reminded how similar they were.

L stood on his chair then resumed his usual crouch in front of the monitors, beginning the process of ruthlessly pushing aside the tangled knot of emotion that he wasn't even sure he was capable of fully deciphering anymore. What little he'd deciphered, he didn't like.

He was feeling anticipation, perhaps even a bit of excitement regarding the face-to-face meeting with Kinjo. This he could deal with, the anticipation was expected; the excitement not so much, but he could suppress it. This wasn't what L disliked.

What L disliked, was the fact that he didn't want Kinjo to think badly of him. Perhaps this was why L still held the golden locket tightly in his hand.

The last of his personal thoughts were suppressed as he focussed his blank gaze on the shaking shoulders on the monitor in front of him, and waited.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ryuuki froze; he stayed curled into a ball on the bed, listening to the footsteps that had been growing increasingly louder, and trying to block out the different set of footsteps in a different time and place that had always brought pain.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop his shoulders from shaking. He was sure that L was watching, and he hated not being able to control himself, but he took deep breaths and reminded himself that this time was completely different.

The footsteps stopped outside the door and a lock was turned, followed by another, and then silence.

"_Knock knock." _

Ryuuki visibly flinched and raised his eyes.

"_You may leave Kinjo-san, the door is unlocked, and Watari is waiting for you."_

Ryuuki let out the breath he'd been unconsciously holding and his anxiety was slowly returning to normal levels; he would be the one opening the door. He smiled slightly, and breathed out his thanks before slowly standing up from the bed and shuffling towards the door. He took a deep breath and quickly opened the door to see a blurry man that he assumed to be Watari standing a few paces away. The man was dressed all in black; he wore a plain black trenchcoat over plain black trousers, with a hat covering the upper part of his face, and a plain black scarf hiding everything else. The man's eyes weren't visible under the hat's brim, and he absently noted that he was also wearing black leather gloves. Watari said nothing, just bowed before turning and walking away from him down the bare corridor. With a last glance at the cell, Ryuuki hastily caught up to the other man until he was only a few paces behind.

The walk was silent, until suddenly a siren sounded and red lights flashed from somewhere above them. Watari halted, then turned; one of his hands reaching into a pocket of his coat.

Ryuuki held his arms up and stumbled backwards, squinting eyes fixed on the hand.

"_Kinjo-san, why does your right arm show as a blur on my scans?"_

Ryuuki glanced towards said arm, which was still raised next to his face, before focussing once again on the hand in the pocket, thinking furiously. He'd forgotten about his wand holster potentially setting off muggle scanners, and he hoped he could wing it.

"It was damaged. I'm not quite sure how much of my lower arm is actually mine."

There was a pause; L was probably looking at whatever the scans had shown up. He hoped his story matched, but having no muggle medical training whatsoever meant that he was relying on Lady Luck here, and she hadn't been too helpful as of late.

"_Surely the doctors involved in your care informed you of the necessary procedures."_

"They probably did, but I wasn't really in the mood to listen, and I was rather hasty in my departure. There could be anything in there really, but it hasn't given me any trouble until now, although it would explain a few frustrating scenes at the airport." Ryuuki had his mental fingers crossed as he waited for a reply, arms still raised and eyes still fixed on the hand that still reached into that pocket.

"_Proceed, Watari."_

Watari slowly removed his hand from his pocket, turned, and continued walking, this time with both hands behind his back where Ryuuki could see them. He hated to admit it, but these guys were growing on him slightly. It was clear that they were at least trying to be considerate. Lowering his arms and giving himself a mental shake, he once again caught up until he was a few paces behind Watari. This situation really had him rattled, and Ryuuki hoped that his demons would stay hidden long enough for him to appease this L guy and return to his apartment, where he could start thinking about visiting the witnesses on the bus. It was as good a place as any to start at the moment.

Numerous corridors and two floors in an elevator later found them standing in front of a nondescript set of double doors, which resembled every other set he'd seen so far. Watari opened the door and held it for Ryuuki, who carefully stepped into the room, jaw dropping at what he saw. Taking his glasses from Watari, who had retrieved them from the box of his things that was sitting on a table, he flicked his wrist to make the legs unfold before he jammed them on his nose one handed and happily let his curiosity gorge itself, and even then it wasn't sated.

The room was large, and yes, that really was almost an entire wall filled with screens of varying sizes; supported on some kind of metal scaffolding, with a long cluttered desk in front. The monitors on the right were displaying either graphs, charts, or a muted news station, and the ones on the left were showing the inside of the building. There were six monitors alone showing the cell he'd been sitting in minutes before. In the middle was a large screen with the gothic 'L' in the centre in black on a white background, with three smaller monitors below. There were plates with cake, truffles, pastries and various other baked goods interspersed with bowls of jelly sweets and other things that Ryuuki could only assume were sweets native to Japan. There was a trolley with tiers filled with yet more sweets, with a pot of what looked like barbecue skewers off to the side for some reason. The avalanche of sweets had even spilled onto the floor, where they were joined by large bowls of sugar cubes and boxes of Hello Panda cookies.

"Bloody hell! It's like a stoner's paradise in here; screens and junk food. You're just missing a Playstation 2."

It was then that Ryuuki noticed that the large chair with its back facing him was actually occupied, as evidenced by the black mop of hair that could just be seen peeking over the top. From where he was standing, L's hair looked just as messy and difficult to manage as his own, and he felt a slight pang of sympathy. Only very slight though.

"Ah, there you are. Almost didn't see you there. For future reference, it really would have helped if perhaps you could put a little 'is here' on the big screen under the L, with a cool little arrow pointing towards your chair."

L sighed as he spun round off his chair and hopped off in one fluid movement, dropping the locket into his pocket as he did so. The small movement went unnoticed.

"Greetings, Kinjo-san. I am L."

Ryuuki gasped.

"Oh, _hell_ no! I'm _nobody's_ stunt double – hold on a minute you're – that guy in the shop was _Watari_? _You're_ the sugar addict! You ingest that much sugar and you're worried about _Kira_ giving you a heart attack?"

L was smirking, and that couldn't be good. It was a calculating smirk, and he had the feeling that yet again he had become a chess piece in someone else's game.

"I have to admit, our similar features are as much of a shock to me. Also, plenty of sugar helps me to think." L never moved his eyes from Ryuuki's face, observing every emotion that was displayed intently.

"I suppose I can understand why you kept staring at me in that shop Watari-san," Ryuuki said jovially, glancing to his left where Watari stood a few paces away. Watari bowed and removed his hat and scarf.

"Just Watari, and it is a pleasure to see you again Kinjo-san, and thank you once again for your assistance, it was very kind of you," he said, smiling slightly.

Ryuuki felt his lips curl into a small smile, a real one for once, and the realisation made his cheeks turn slightly pink. He mumbled a quick, "no problem," and dragged his hand through his hair, pulling it down to make sure his scar was covered and to partially hide his red face, thereby missing how the gazes of the others in the room had sharpened slightly.

L walked over to a nearby sofa and stood on it, puzzling Ryuuki slightly, before he crouched in his customary seating position with his hands resting on his knees.

"Please take a seat, Kinjo-san," he invited, gesturing loosely to the only available seat other than his computer chair, which just so happened to be right next to him on the sofa. As predicted, Kinjo walked over to his computer chair and wheeled it closer, but far enough away to spot an attack and be able to dodge it effectively. He flashed a cheeky grin at L before - grabbing both arms of the chair - lifting himself into the air, crossing his legs before coming to rest sitting, in a movement that was just as fluid as the one that L had executed minutes before.

Ryuuki noticed that Watari had left the room at some point, and was annoyed at himself for not paying closer attention to his surroundings, but he hid his irritation and stared back at L, imitating the others' blank look to the best of his ability.

L, on the other hand, was staring at the other man, thinking of what questions he wanted answered first. He decided to wait and see what Kinjo would do, and proceed from there. As Kinjo blinked a few moments later, he felt a short sharp burst of victory, which was promptly suppressed before it could show on his face. Nobody had ever outlasted him in a staring contest, and L took each one seriously, whether the other person was aware of it or not. It was one of his unknown quirks. However, Kinjo didn't appear to be bothered and kept staring straight back.

Both were still silent as Watari appeared a few minutes later, with a bowl of steaming ramen, a whole cheesecake, a pot of fresh tea and two upturned cups on a wheeled trolley.

"Thank you, Watari," said both L and Ryuuki at the same time, before glancing slightly wide eyed at each other. Both then reached for the things on the trolley, Ryuuki grabbing the ramen and L taking one of the teacups, which Watari filled, after staring bemusedly at them both for a second.

The meal was silent - Watari having disappeared somewhere again after pouring a cup of tea for Ryuuki - and L had managed to consume three slices of cheesecake, two red doughball type things with white centres, a multitude of cookies, truffles, and jellybeans, and a cup of tea-flavoured sugar; all in the time it took Ryuuki to eat his one bowl of ramen. Ryuuki was amazed that someone could eat as much and as quickly as Ron did in one sitting, and not look like a complete pig. If anything the strange man across from him ate rather daintily, holding the very tip of his fork between forefinger and thumb, with the rest of his fingers splayed out. In fact, he'd held everything that way so far. Eventually Ryuuki became fed up with the silence.

"So when can I return to my apartment?" Ryuuki wondered absently whether or not L had someone going through his apartment, possibly at that very moment, and was glad that he'd already resized everything. It wouldn't do for L to discover miniature muggle devices.

"I can have your things brought to where we will be staying, after having been checked first, of course; but unfortunately I can't let you leave just yet."

Ryuuki rolled his eyes and slumped in his seat, glaring at L.

"You _said_ you know I'm not Kira, so why the change?" he challenged.

The doors opened and Watari entered the room holding a box, which he gave to L.

"Here is the item you requested, L."

"Thank you Watari, you may leave us now."

Watari bowed and left the room, and only when the doors closed did L open the box. He looked over the contents, and all Ryuuki could figure out was that whatever was inside the box was metal, and that it rattled. L stepped off the sofa and slowly shuffled towards Ryuuki, who watched warily. He was sitting too low to see what was in the box.

"Please hold out your arm, Kinjo-san," L requested blandly.

Ryuuki sighed and reluctantly held up his right arm, figuring out that L probably wanted to inspect his arm to see why his scans showed it as being blurred. He seemed the type to obsess over things like that. He knew that his undetectable wand holster was just that, undetectable, other than with muggle scanners interestingly enough. L reached into the box, and he paused as they had another unofficial staring contest, but when Ryuuki blinked, he heard a rattle and felt something cold wrap around his wrist before he'd even registered something was happening.

He regained his wits and kicked the other man in the stomach just as L snapped the other end of the handcuffs onto his own wrist.

Not having the chance to dodge quickly enough, the kick sent L flying backwards, which had the unfortunate consequence of dragging Ryuuki out of his chair awkwardly to land on the floor next to the other man, who recovered faster and quickly twisted himself around and pounced on Ryuuki, sitting on his stomach and pinning his arms above his head.

"What the HELL are you doing, L! Get this THING off me! You CAN'T just lock me up like this! WHERE'S THE KEY?" Ryuuki shouted, inches away from L's face and practically roaring by the time he was done.

"Calm down Kinjo-san," L started but was interrupted when Kinjo's struggles increased and he carried on shouting.

"CALM DOWN? You CHAIN me to yourself and you expect me to CALM DOWN? Well NO, I bloody well WON'T calm down! Now get OFF of me and GET THIS THING OFF!"

Both men were panting heavily as Ryuuki kept shouting and struggling (and swearing rather a lot), but Ryuuki had the disadvantage because he was the one currently pinned down, and he didn't actually want to cause the other man serious damage by kneeing him in the back since it looked like the guy had existing back problems, although it didn't seem to be affecting his strength, which was surprising. Soon though, Ryuuki's fatigue made itself known as he yawned half way through his struggles (turning his yawn into a rather amusing 'ah ah aaaaaaaasshole' which made Watari chuckle as he observed the events from another room nearby), his movements becoming more sluggish as his body came down from the adrenaline induced high, and the added weight on his diaphragm stopping him from drawing a full breath. Ryuuki closed his eyes, not wanting to see that blank stare evaluating him anymore, and he thought he heard a sigh mixed in with L's heavy breathing.

"If you are quite... finished with your outburst... I'd like us to sit... and have a mature... discussion... about the situation... we find ourselves in." L got out between gasping breaths.

Abruptly Ryuuki's face became animated once again as he opened his eyes and grinned blearily up at L.

"Well if you'd get off... take off the stupid cuff... give me my stuff back... and let me go... back to my apartment... we wouldn't have... a situation to... discuss now would we?.. So really this... is all your fault... which would logically make... _you_ the evil twin," he panted back with a gleeful smile, which faltered as L's eyes widened and his nostrils flared slightly, minute twitches giving away his agitation. It might have been less noticeable if L's face wasn't a few inches from his own.

"You'll find that the person who fits that role is currently in a maximum security prison cell with little to no hope of ever being released," L replied blandly, having recovered his breath somewhat. "I'm going to let you go now that you've calmed down, as long as you agree not to attack me again."

"Hey! You attacked me first - with a handcuff!" Ryuuki replied indignantly.

"I didn't attack you, I restrained you. The key difference being that I didn't hurt you," retorted L, making Ryuuki feel rather guilty since he couldn't say the same.

"Well what would _you_ have done if our roles were reversed?" Ryuuki said grumpily.

"I'd have kicked you across the room of course," L promptly replied, causing a smug grin to appear on Ryuuki's face.

"See! Totally normal reaction."

"Yes, and this is why I have not kicked you back. If you attack me again, rest assured I shall return every hit with equal force."

Ryuuki growled slightly, causing that creepy smirk to appear on L's face as he watched Kinjo expectantly.

"Well what are you waiting for? Get off!" Ryuuki said sullenly.

"You have yet to agree not to attack me again," L replied, still smirking and raising his eyebrows at Ryuuki, who was getting more annoyed the longer that smirk stayed in place.

"Fine! I won't attack you, now get off and let me breathe, dammit!" Ryuuki wheezed out between gritted teeth.

"I'm not sure I'm convinced," said L, his grin becoming slightly creepier, "But I will give you the benefit of the doubt, and hope that you will behave yourself." With that he hopped up onto his feet and stood next to Ryuuki, waiting for him to stand up before leading the tired man over to the sofa and sitting down in his usual crouch. Ryuuki threw himself down next to L, almost unbalancing him in the process, but years of experience helped him to keep his balance. Ryuuki, who had been hoping for something a bit more amusing when he'd seen the wobble, found himself rather disappointed.

"You're British," L stated. Ryuuki sighed at this.

"I have lived in Britain for a time," he replied evasively, eyeing L apprehensively.

"No, you are British. You speak excellent Japanese, but you use British phrases, like 'bloody hell'. 'Chimamire jigoku' isn't typically Japanese. It's a rather British thing to say, and something you'd only really pick up if you'd been brought up there, especially if you automatically translate that phrase into Japanese. Plus you practically gave yourself away when you were swearing; you had a distinctly English accent when you switched languages for some of the obscenities that don't translate to Japanese, which I assume was accidental."

"Well, I suppose I expected you to figure out that much. You're pretty quick on the uptake," observed Ryuuki as he rubbed his wrists, disliking the feel of the cuff against his scars.

"It is necessary."

There was a slightly awkward pause as L refilled both teacups, grabbing a handful of sugar cubes and dropping them into his own cup from around eye level, which caused the familiar plopping noise that Ryuuki had mistaken for 'toilet noises'.

"Ah yes, your brain food. What is it, one cube per answer you plan to extract?"

L ignored Ryuuki in favour of reaching for his teaspoon, and poking at the pile of cubes he'd dropped into his cup. Ryuuki threw his head back into the sofa and sighed heavily.

"I'm taking a guess here but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, Kinjo-san. I'm guessing that there's not a single piece of information in your file that is in fact wholly accurate, if at all. Technically you don't even exist, _Kinjo_ _Ryuuki_. No station in Okinawa has ever heard of anyone by your name, and apparently nobody has transferred to Tokyo from anywhere in that region in the last three months." L stirred his tea, watching the liquid swirl and not even looking at Ryuuki.

"Ryuuki's fine, you've seen me naked after all, and we're chained together, which means we're going to have lots of lovely bonding time to get to know each other. Won't that be fun?" Ryuuki stated dryly, in a tone that suggested exactly the opposite.

"That will be rather amusing Ryuuki-kun, as I had already decided which alias to use for this case before I knew of your existence, and I will not be changing it."

"If you're waiting for a drum roll, it's not coming."

"For the duration of the Kira case my alias will be Ryuuzaki."

He tried, he really did, but it was no use; the dam broke and the room was filled with Ryuuki's giggles, soon turning into full blown laughter seeing as not only had he somehow managed to unknowingly transfigure his face into almost an exact replica of the detective L's, but he'd also nearly hi-jacked his alias without even realising it. At that moment it was the funniest thing in the world.

"You said there was someone else who looked like us. Was he your brother then?" he asked when he'd recovered slightly. Ryuuki noticed _something_ cross L's face but it was gone before it could be identified. Either way this person was a sore spot.

"No, we weren't related, and didn't get on too well unfortunately. He was rather unstable it has to be said."

"Ah I get it." Ryuuki gave a sharp nod and looked sideways at L.

"What?"

"I get it. You can't be too much older or younger than me so I'm guessing you knew this guy for a while when you were younger somehow, and that you were number one; the smartest, with the best looking future ahead of you, while this guy felt constantly overlooked and in your shadow, never feeling good enough to actually count for something. He wanted what you had and got jealous, blaming you and going a little crazy at you, the situation made even worse for him because he looked like your double." Seeing that L was looking rather floored, and that he was probably not far off the mark, he continued. "I have a friend who was in a similar situation but luckily it worked out that the jealous guy got a rather severe wake-up call and their friendship could be repaired, or else it might have been rather nasty. I'm guessing that this guy was unstable enough to go the other way and ended up doing something totally crazy, which probably involved you somehow, which then got his crazy-ass stuck in the most secure prison you could find, that isn't anywhere near a place that you're likely to visit."

L continued staring at Ryuuki, having blanked his face, inwardly amazed that he'd been so _right_. He'd never met anyone who'd managed to gather that much information from one of his sentences before - twenty words! He was usually aware of every little bit of information that could be gleaned, no matter how small. The troubling thing was that he'd thought that what he'd said was _safe_; that Ryuuki wouldn't get anything from it, and he'd miscalculated, rather badly. It was rather uncomfortable to have someone pick apart your words like that, and he wondered if this is actually how people felt when speaking to _him_. He had to admit that he really didn't like being on the receiving end.

"I'll just assume I was right then," said Ryuuki.

"In that case, so will I." Now it was Ryuuki's turn to be confused.

"What?"

"I said I would guess that all of the information in your file is false, and that you could correct me if I was wrong. You haven't corrected me so I assume that I was right."

Ryuuki stayed silent for a moment, a slight smirk playing about his lips as he leaned forwards and picked up his tea.

"Should I start calling you 'Ryuuzaki' now, or should I wait until you meet with the reduced taskforce?" Ryuuki grinned. L didn't bother to look surprised by this question, liking the relatively new concept of perhaps not having to explain everything for once.

"Right now I don't mind, I will answer to L or Ryuuzaki, whichever you wish to use," he replied absently, waving his hand slightly before picking up his cup of sludge. "It goes without saying however, that Ryuuzaki should be used when it is no longer just the three of us," he added, before taking a rather loud sip of his aforementioned sludge.

"Well that's obvious." Ryuuki managed not to wince as he almost heard the granules of sugar grinding against each other as L tilted his cup. "Seriously, isn't there a compromise to be made about your rather large sugar problem?"

"I see no reason to compromise when there is no problem; sugar helps me to think, and I need to think to solve crimes. Therefore, I consume large quantities of sugar." L sounded bored, as if he'd gone through this discussion many times.

"I do. You can't solve the world's problems if you're dead, and if Kira doesn't find some way of ending your existence, then your beloved sugar will. Do you even check your blood sugar levels at the hospital? I can tell by your face at just the mention of a hospital that you can't stand the places, so that would be a resounding 'no' then? Wait... you were just about to lie weren't you? Ha!" Ryuuki poked L in the ribs and was surprised when L completely froze at the touch, a lot like himself. "Here's your compromise, oh piggish one, and it's called getting a home blood sugar testing kit, and do it yourself, so at least you can perhaps see when your brain food starts to rot the rest you from the inside out!"

"No thank you," L replied sullenly. He was actually dangerously close to pouting, and couldn't quite remember when or how he'd been derailed from the multitudes of questions he had lined up for Ryuuki.

"Are you afraid of needles then?"

"No, I just don't have the time, and my life expectancy is already shortened because of my occupation. My job will likely kill me before my sugar," replied L, keeping his face blank and stating the same thing he'd been telling Watari for the last decade.

"How utterly morbid of you, a right ray of sunshine you are, but imagine it; the proverbial light in the darkness, brought down by a lack of blood in his sugar stream. It would be tragic, and everyone who doesn't know you would be at your funeral, looking at the gothic L on the stone, wondering how the hell you were such a good detective, and yet you failed to detect the crazy blood sugar levels in your own body. Now, would you rather die of ignorance because you treated your body like crap, or would you rather go out in a blaze of righteous fury a few decades later as some badass criminal fills you up with bullets, and perhaps learn to compromise?" Ryuuki finished with his arms folded, eyebrows raised as if daring L to argue.

"And yet you sit there, and call me morbid. I think perhaps you may be rather more morbid than I am," replied L.

"I have good reason. And a valid point, I may add."

"_L, I have ordered a full blood testing kit; it should arrive at some point in the next two days," _came Watari's voice from the direction of the monitors.

L glared openly at Ryuuki, who gave him a cheeky grin.

"See, even Watari agrees with me, and he knows you better than I do."

L was still glaring, and he was no longer inclined to listen to anything that came out of Ryuuki's mouth, unless of course it was some much needed answers.

"Which organisation sent you, and what do they want?"

"Ah right, down to business then! Well, I don't really have permission to tell you that. It's the rules of the game I'm afraid," he said with mock sadness.

"This is no game!" stated L emphatically.

"Kira is playing a game with you."

"You are not Kira, and yet until you tell me what I want to know, you are my biggest threat."

"Wrong!" stated Ryuuki gleefully.

"Ryuuki-kun, if you're quite finished being immature, can you-"

Ryuuki snorted. "We're sitting in the middle of every kid's wildest dreams, with sweets and cakes on every available surface, and you expect maturity? This," he said, grinning and gesturing broadly towards the room in general, "is enough to summon my inner grandchild into existence! And perhaps summon my old school headmaster from the dead, although I really shouldn't joke about that..." Ryuuki thought about the resurrection stone, which was currently safely hidden in his locket, which was apparently safely hidden by L.

"How did he die?" L inquired.

"He was killed by my chemistry teacher," Ryuuki deadpanned. L stared for a moment, as if considering him. Ryuuki sat and stared straight back with a bored expression on his face.

"I find that I have a problem Ryuuki-kun. I have a man who states that he wants to help me catch Kira, and yet I cannot trust him with my life, or the lives of the men who will soon be joining me. I know that he is here on behalf of an outside organisation, and although I think that he himself is a good man, I cannot trust that the same can be said for those he works for. I cannot trust that he will not give out information to the outside organisation. Let me finish Ryuuki-kun." Ryuuki's mouth snapped shut with an audible _clack_.

"Now, without knowing this organisation, or knowing the motives of said organisation, I cannot accurately predict their movements, and this man may pass on information that is vitally important, thinking that he is doing a good thing. In reality, for all I know, we will find Kira's weapon, the man will tell whomever sent him here, and they will swoop in and take the weapon to use for their own purposes. I wish to destroy it, and I will use every means at my disposal to prevent the weapon from disappearing into the wrong hands."

"Interrogation 101, appeal to their better nature, if they actually happen to possess one. Unfortunately for me, I really am a nice guy. Give me a moment, and I'll see what I can do," Ryuuki said quietly. He pulled his legs up in a similar position to L; the only difference being his bottom, which was actually touching the sofa. He pulled one hand through his hair, covering his scar, and bit his lip, thinking. He had to be careful, and reveal just enough, but not too much.

"What better way to destroy a weapon, than to send in a weapon of your own," he started, with a bitter laugh that made the hairs on L's neck stand up. "Let's just stick to the word 'group' instead of organisation shall we? It sounds a whole lot friendlier, and a lot less organised, which is about right."

L waited patiently with his eyebrows raised as Ryuuki bit his lip and frowned at the floor, suppressing the urge to just kick the truth out of the other man. He wouldn't of course, especially seeing as how Ryuuki had only been here for a few hours and yet he'd already converted Watari, who was a surprisingly good judge of character.

Ryuuki made it so _easy_ to underestimate him; if what he said about being a weapon was true – and he had a feeling that it was; a laugh like that _couldn't_ be faked – then Ryuuki had the potential to be positively _lethal_, if he wasn't already. L had the insane urge to challenge him to a fight, just to see who would win. He was brought out of his thoughts by Ryuuki who raised his head and _looked_ at him. L was looking straight into the eyes of the _real_ Ryuuki, or whatever his name was. Just like that, they both had an understanding, and both nodded to each other at the same time. Masks were off.

"I am..." Ryuuki leaned forward, gesturing for L to come closer, which he did, as Ryuuki cupped his hand round his mouth and whispered a word that was barely audible, and yet L heard it clearly.

"_Harry_."

L stared. So that was his real name... now they were even on that score, not that Ryuuki... _Harry_ knew that little fact. There was no way that the cameras or microphones could have picked that up, and L knew better than to ever say it out loud, so Ryuuki's true name would remain hidden.

"There are two people that you would know of, whether you have spoken to them or not, who know that I am here, and I have these people's permission and confidence. Nobody else is involved on that front; unless I authorise it first, there will be absolutely no interference. The group that actually sent me here doesn't really exist. There is a very small chance that you have heard of them, so tell me something of the most secret organisation you know, and I will tell you if you are correct, however I am not allowed to even say the name just in case. I doubt you will know of them though, so there's going to be a lot I can't tell you. I'm simply not allowed, and I could go to a seriously terrible prison for telling you. No, before you say something along the lines of 'well actually, I _can_ keep you out of prison', let me tell you that this is like no prison you have ever seen, and you won't have heard of it. My group had a few aims in sending me here, and those were to find Kira, to neutralise any threat he poses, and to destroy the murder weapon. That's it. Oh, and I agree with those aims."

"I highly doubt that there is a prison that I am not aware of."

"Right then, we'll soon find out. Who guards the worst prison that you know of?"

"Some rather vicious people, with equally vicious dogs."

"In that case my lips are sealed, and shall stay that way, under threat of a much worse prison."

L looked rather doubtful at this; whether it was his own knowledge or Ryuuki's information that he doubted, remained a mystery to Ryuuki.

"I will withhold information that I'm not allowed to tell you, but I assure you that I have not told a lie since the nod, and I will not lie until we're finished here. In fact I have a rather interesting scar that says so!" Ryuuki was laughing as he said the last part, but L wasn't taking the bait, although he did note that that laughter was eerily similar to the one that had disturbed him slightly before. "In fact," Ryuuki continued absently, and perhaps there was some fondness there, "my old Headmaster once told me that he had a scar shaped like the map of the London Underground on one of his knees. He really would go mad in here, you know. Even his passwords were always some kind of sweet."

"I hate to spoil the moment, but is there any chance of your 'group' acting independently? And how do I know that you really are telling the truth?"

Ryuuki frowned a little, thinking carefully. He sighed. He pulled on his hair. He bit his bottom lip.

"I suppose, that you don't really know that I'm telling the truth, and there's not really a way that I can prove any of it," he started, biting his lip. "That's the most important question, because if you don't believe me, then answering your first question would be pointless, as you wouldn't believe me, regardless of what I say."

"Let's say I choose to believe you. What would your answer to my first question be?"

"Interesting. Giving nothing away I see. Right, here's the thing; I'm a little bit like you in a way, I suppose. Only I'm not stuck in front of a computer. I'm not really a detective as such, although sometimes it's necessary. I'm... a solution to many problems, and it would be rather unfortunate for a lot of people if I died anytime soon. Not to blow my own trumpet or anything, but this group would not make a move unless I called in some backup and expressly instructed them on what to do, and in that case Tokyo wouldn't know what had hit it. Literally, nobody would know. If I die, then they will know immediately and they will probably come in force, hunt Kira down from the beginning and destroy the weapon. Again, none would be the wiser."

"That is _assuming_ that there is a weapon. What makes you so sure?"

"It's the only thing that makes much sense right now, mixed in with a bit of gut instincts. You're convinced that there's a weapon too, from what you've said." Ryuuki looked down before looking back at L. "I will inform you that I told two close friends what little information the Chief gave me the night before last, and that I was looking through newspapers. If something happens to me, one of them will no doubt find the same strange incident that I found, if she has not done so already."

L scowled. "Thank you for telling me this."

"Actually, she would probably try to find you."

"She wouldn't succeed," stated L confidently.

"I wouldn't be so sure. She's an absolute genius, and already has a patent on an invention of hers, and is working on another. She makes me look like a complete toadstool."

"There are many different types of genius Ryuuki-san."

"Pft," Ryuuki waved his hand in dismissal. "Ask another of your no doubt endless supply of questions."

"What training have you had?"

"If I tell you anything to do with something that never happened, I won't just go to prison, I will die a horrible death. Next question please." It was stated bluntly, and clearly Ryuuki took the threat to his life very seriously, and wouldn't be volunteering any information.

"It is not a question. It is more of a statement. I would very much appreciate it if you could obtain permission to tell me from whomever you need to, as I think that with us working together, Kira won't stand a chance," stated L vehemently, clenching his fists.

"_What_?" Ryuuki sat open mouthed staring at L. "Wait a damn minute... you know what? You're a freaking GENIUS!" Ryuuki bounced on his seat, with a real grin as he shouted, "HA!" and punched the air, rattling the chain.

"It has been mentioned a few times in passing..." L mumbled from behind his thumb.

"It's brilliant! Trust me on this, they won't say no! It would be stupid of them. With you being who you are, and me being who I am, they really can't say no!"

"In that case, there is an untraceable phone on my desk. The black one."

Ryuuki visibly faltered. "Ahhh... There might be a slight problem. Contacting anyone in front of random people falls under the 'must not do' category, and you seem to have slapped a whopping great chain on us both. If you are there before I have permission to fill you in, I would go to jail. Not for very long mind you, but the guards would love nothing more than to have free reign, and personally I'd rather not go there. I don't think I would ever be the same. I can't take you with me when I will no doubt be required to leave - for the same reasons, I really don't want to end up in prison - and I'd have to go in person because they don't have a set number as such. There's also the slight problem of certain others becoming worried if I don't get in touch with them soon."

"Yes, I can see that being rather tricky."

"Speaking of keeping in touch, I'm guessing by the Chief's solemn goodbye that he knew what you were up to."

"Yes."

"I thought so. I noticed them in plenty of time to escape you know."

"I know."

"Thanks, by the way. This is definitely the best kidnapping to date. Rather comfortable actually, going by previous standards." Ryuuki suddenly put his hand against his chest and stared wide eyed at L. "Is my locket safe?"

Ryuuki watched curiously as L balanced perfectly on his right foot and extended his left, shoving his arm into his pocket up to his elbow before bringing out the locket, and holding it out for Ryuuki to take.

"I kept it in the most secure place I could think of. My pockets are rather deep after all."

"Yeah, I'll bet; you've got to be loaded," Said Ryuuki lightly. L just smirked in response. Ryuuki yawned behind his hand before leaning his head back, staring at the ceiling and absently replacing the locket around his neck. He felt the slight warmth that meant that something inside had made a sound, and he guessed that either Ron or Hermione had tried to contact him.

"I have to wonder; just how many times has Ryuuki-kun been kidnapped?"

"That's a bit close. Ask me about the here and now and I'll do what I can, but make it personal and you'll find that you and I will have a falling out. Like I said, I don't know you."

L was disappointed but didn't show it. He hopped off the sofa and turned to look down at Ryuuki, whose real name was Harry. He looked exhausted, slumped in the corner of the sofa and sporting bags under his eyes that almost matched his own.

"You need to sleep; you are exhausted. We shall resume in the morning when you are well rested."

Ryuuki looked extremely apprehensive. "You mean, we're going to sleep in the same room?"

"The same bed, actually. It's large enough. The chain was an unforeseen circumstance due to your reaction to confinement, and unfortunately the chain makes it pointless to sleep in separate beds, as we would just have to push them next to each other anyway. If it helps, I don't plan on sleeping," said L crossing the room to grab his laptop and almost pulling Ryuuki off the sofa in the process. Ryuuki stumbled after L, completely exhausted.

"Ah... Right... You look like you could use some sleep yourself." Ryuuki yawned as they left the room, tired enough not to care where they were going, and just following L.

"I require very little sleep Ryuuki-kun. Watari will be driving us."

"Huh? We're sleeping somewhere else? Oh and those bags under your eyes state otherwise, you're probably just on a permanent sugar high."

"Yes, we shall be going to a hotel. Come on, Watari will meet us at the car."

They were silent for a few minutes before Ryuuki spoke up.

"Human beings require sleep, and you definitely look like a human being to me; therefore you need sleep."

"Not tonight I don't. I have work to do."

"It's almost scary how often I've said almost that exact same thing, to many different people over the years. How on Earth do you resemble me so much?"

"How old are you Ryuuki-kun, truthfully?"

Ryuuki gave L a sideways glance before muttering, "Fine, I'm 23."

"In that case, I think you will find that just as I suspected, it is in fact you that resembles me," L stated smugly, obviously rather pleased with himself.

Ryuuki growled, and L huffed out something that almost resembled a laugh.

"Give an inch, and you take a mile. Why doesn't that surprise me...? Typical Slytherin." The last was mumbled too quietly for L to hear.

"Naturally."

Ryuuki wasn't surprised in the least when he saw that they would be travelling via limousine, considering that he'd seen it before the first time that he had met Watari. The windows were tinted so that the interior was blocked from view.

"Like I said, loaded." His only reply was another smirk as Watari opened the back door for them to climb in, which they did.

Ryuuki almost fell asleep in the car, but he managed to last until they reached the underground car park of some fancy hotel, where he decided he'd just close his eyes for a few seconds... then he went rigid as he felt a poke in his ribs, and his eyes flew open, startled when L's face appeared inches from his own.

"No sleeping!"

Ryuuki groaned as he forced his body to get out of the car and walk towards what would hopefully be a nice, comfortable bed. The amused glances being sent his way by L and Watari weren't even registering in his brain at that point, and he hoped that he was exhausted enough to get a decent night's sleep.

A/N: OMG... my head is pounding, but 7500 words later and this chapter is done! I'm so glad it's out of my brain, and this happens to be one of my favourite bits I've ever written! I'm so happy! There are a couple of bits that I'm not quite happy with, so feel free to try and spot them and to send suggestions my way, because I can't actually remember what was annoying me anymore, lol.

Harry is a little OOC, but he's supposed to be. I've tried to keep L as close as possible to the real thing, but experiences change people and I can't guarantee that he'll stay the same, especially not with Harry Potter involved! Either way, I hope you like the story so far!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

They walked from yet another underground parking facility into what appeared to be service corridors. They didn't pass a single person, and the three of them made their way to a plain elevator, Watari pressing the button for the top floor.

"I may be tired but what's going on? Isn't this a bit rude?"

"Not everyone uses the front entrances to expensive hotels Ryuuki-kun, it would be troublesome for some," L replied.

"Yes! Definitely! I can _totally_ appreciate that!" said Ryuuki, shuddering as he remembered hordes of screaming fan-girls (and fan-ladies! And fan-boys, and just about every other kind of fan) chasing him down the street as he dodged crazy reporters that popped out of nowhere the last time he'd booked into a wizarding hotel. "And these hotels expect people to just wander in the back entrance?" he asked curiously, wondering if it was the same with wizarding hotels, and if he had just never noticed or thought about it. It would be handy if he could sneak around without a rabid mob following him around, snapping pictures of his every move. Perhaps he could even fix it so that they lift the apparition wards just briefly so that he could just apparate directly into his room...

"They are notified to keep the corridors clear in advance, and we deal with the security cameras. The ones we're passing are currently on a loop, and will remain so for the next five minutes, by which time we should be safely in the hotel room," replied L blandly. He was terribly slouched, and seemed to be staring at the floor. His hands were shoved into his pockets and Ryuuki wondered if his jeans had to be specially made for his pockets to go that deep.

"Ryuuzaki-kun, why are you staring at the floor?" Ryuuki leaned over and stared at the floor too, trying to see what was so fascinating. Without straightening in the slightest, L turned his head and regarded Ryuuki silently.

"Seriously, there's nothing there, just some scuff marks," Ryuuki continued absently, still staring at the floor. Ryuuzaki could hear Watari's attempts to hide his amusement, and was irritated. Ryuuki didn't seem to be mocking him, but he couldn't be sure.

"This is just how I stand," he said with his eyes slightly narrowed.

Ryuuki straightened and looked at him in disbelief.

"Seriously? I was only down there for a minute or so and already I'm glad I stood back up. That's got to be really uncomfortable," stated Ryuuki, looking down at Ryuuzaki quizzically. Ryuuzaki just sighed before there was a _ding_ and the doors opened.

The three were silent until they said their goodnights at Watari's door, and the elderly gentleman shut the door after handing Ryuuzaki his laptop bag and making sure to tell Ryuuzaki to call him if he needed anything. Ryuuki and Ryuuzaki carried on to the next door, which was where they would be sleeping. Or working, in Ryuuzaki's case.

"It is the opposite for me, it causes me great discomfort to stand straight," Ryuuzaki eventually replied.

"Oh, I'd almost forgotten I'd asked that. Well it still looks uncomfortable to me. In fact, earlier I figured it would be poor show to knee you in the back, which is just as well really otherwise it might have gotten a little nasty. Who's first in the bathroom? I don't mind if you go first," said Ryuuki absently.

Ryuuzaki fished a key out of his left pocket and a keycard from his right, and used both to unlock the door. Inside this door, was another door with a keypad.

"Hmmm. Ryuuzaki-kun, why..." Ryuuki mumbled tiredly.

"Wait until we are inside, Ryuuki-kun."

Ryuuki yawned and rubbed his eyes; honestly, he was so tired that all he wanted was to do was sleep for a year, but he had all these questions, and everything he saw and everything that happened was just raising more and more questions. Was there even such a thing as being curiously exhausted? Well, Ryuuki figured that if there wasn't before, then there was now.

They both entered the main room, which had blank monitors already set up. Ryuuzaki ignored this room however and carried on towards a door in the far wall, Ryuuki yawning and rubbing his eyes again, barely registering the main room before there was a bed in front of him.

"Bed!" he said longingly, making his way to possibly the most inviting bed he'd ever seen.

"Not yet Ryuuki, bathroom first," L stated.

"But L! I'm tired, I just want to sleep, and I'll even brush my teeth twice in the morning!" Ryuuki argued childishly, and would later state that he did not _whine_.

"No Ryuuki, now." L tugged sharply on the chain, making Ryuuki hiss slightly.

"That's not fair, you can't just..." Ryuuki started.

"I can and did, now get in the bathroom."

Mouth open slightly at being forcefully told what to do at the ripe old age of 23, and too tired to argue, Ryuuki scowled and slouched into the bathroom, growling when the door didn't close properly because of the chain. He quickly relieved himself before washing his hands and brushing his teeth. Splashing water on his face, he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked as exhausted as he felt. He left the bathroom to find L leaning against the wall just outside the door.

"It's all yours," he said. L pushed himself off the wall and slouched into the bathroom without a word. Ryuuki sat down outside the door and waited, absently noting that L's routine matched his. His head began to droop without him noticing, but he shook himself when he realised that L had finished and was now staring at him.

"Come on Ryuuki-kun, before you fall asleep again where you sit."

"Mmhmm," he mumbled, before pushing himself to his feet and stumbling over the chain. L shot his hand out to steady him however, and he reached the bed without further incident.

"L."

"Yes Ryuuki-kun?"

"I just realised something. Neither of us put on socks and shoes before coming here, and we've been barefoot the whole time, and I was too tired to notice," mumbled Ryuuki sleepily before throwing himself on the bed with a _fwump_.

"I do not wear socks, and I very rarely wear shoes." L sat on the other side of the bed in his usual crouch and was arranging the spare pillows around him like some sort of nest.

"Mmm. Weird. It's ok though, I don't mind weird. Weird is good. Different. You're different. And sensible."

"You are no longer making sense Ryuuki-kun, I suggest you sleep."

"G'night L."

"Goodnight Ryuuki-kun."

L sat silently and watched Harry as he fell asleep, and he could almost tell the exact moment that he did so, as tension that L hadn't been able to see before seemed to drain from the person next to him. He hadn't moved since practically throwing himself onto the bed, and he hadn't bothered to pull the covers up. Scars were peeking out above the neckline of his shirt, which was incidentally one of L's own. They looked really nasty up close, and that was without being able to see the other scars that he knew were there. L glanced down to where the cuff was around Ryuuki's wrist, and he mentally noted to himself that he would need to instruct Watari to find a sweatband so as not to irritate Ryuuki's existing scars. He shifted his gaze to Ryuuki's face which was now almost totally relaxed. Is this what he himself looked like when he was sleeping?

It was strange, but he somehow felt connected to this man. He once again pushed his 'feelings' aside and focussed on Ryuuki's face. There were premature wrinkles on his forehead; only slight, but they were there. He must frown a lot. There were stress lines around his eyes that told a story of their own, and not a happy one. This man really was a mystery to him, and happened to be almost identical in facial features. He knew that it was virtually impossible that they could be related, but he couldn't help but wonder, and unfortunately it was making him work that little bit harder to push those feelings aside. Even the shape of Ryuuki's ears was the same. Mentally giving himself a shake, he pulled his laptop closer and switched it on; glancing over towards Ryuuki to see if the noise had affected him. It hadn't. He saw that Watari was online, and decided to see what his thoughts were.

_L:~ W?_

_W:~ Yes L?_

_L:~ Your thoughts._

_W:~ I no longer think that he would harm himself._

_L:~ Neither do I; at least, not unless something drastic were to push him into it. He is a survivor. However his mental state is rather concerning. I have seen two distinct personalities and hints of a third._

_W:~ I wouldn't jump to conclusions L; he is a troubled young man who has needed a cover story._

_L:~ Take away the cover story and that still leaves himself, plus the troubled part._

_W:~ Are you concerned for him?_

_L:~ I think he will help us in this investigation._

_W:~ I almost heard you laugh, L. You know that I wasn't asking for the benefit of this investigation._

_L:~ Don't Watari. I tried and look what happened. _

_W:~ They are completely different people in a completely different situation and you know it! Don't use excuses to isolate yourself further, please!_

L scowled and closed the chat window, eyeing the tea tray which was on the nightstand next to him. Mildly irritated, he let it show as he snatched up a cup and flicked the kettle on. Isolating himself? He'd just gone and showed his face to Ryuuki, and was planning on working with a taskforce, and he's isolating himself? What was it exactly that he was supposed to do?

He spent the next hour working on a Swiss case under the name of Eraldo Coil. A bank had secretly offered him a rather large sum of money to find out where exactly their money had been disappearing to these past few years, and he had it narrowed it down to two culprits, both high level employees. He was one transaction away from proving that they were both involved somehow; he already had enough on one of them to put him behind bars for a couple of decades. It hadn't taken him long to write a short program which would automatically filter out the everyday transactions, leaving him with only those that were odd in some way. From there it was a simple case of logical thinking. If it was an outside source, security measures at the bank would prevent it from happening long term even if it did go unnoticed, which meant that it was either someone at the bank giving out information, or there was the 68.2% more likely scenario of the upper level staff deciding to skim a little off the top.

One of the men responsible was blindingly obvious if you knew what to look for. He'd started out rather small a few years ago; a few hundred here, a few hundred there, testing the waters. When he'd gotten away with that, the amounts had become larger and larger until he was taking thousands. He'd used his credit cards a lot, and used the stolen money from a special fake account he'd set up under a fake name, to pay his credit card bill which was registered in his own name. Idiotic man.

The other man hadn't been quite so careless, and had been taking the same small amount for a few years longer than Mr Idiot. Presumably he'd mentioned the idea to someone just as corrupt, but less intelligent so that if something was ever noticed, Mr Idiot would get the blame, leaving him to keep on stealing. He obviously told Mr Idiot how he himself was doing it, which gave Eraldo Coil a template to work from. He knew who it was, but needed that one crucial piece of evidence that linked him directly to the crime, instead of linking him directly to Mr Idiot. Mr Idiot apparently followed Mr Clever around like some sort of puppy. After all, Mr Clever had helped him out. If Eraldo Coil couldn't find a transaction that linked Mr Clever to the crime, he'd have to set up a trap for him which would be a lot more fun admittedly. He'd only gotten the call through the previous morning, so he'd have to wait between four and eight days before submitting his findings. It was only L that could solve cases like these in under 24 hours after all.

On a whim, L looked up Mrs Clever's birthday, and their anniversary date, and searched for odd transactions around those dates. Bingo. Anniversary, a one month return cruise booked a few weeks in advance, paid in full with almost the exact amount disappearing from the fake account on the same day.

Half an hour and a few polite phone conversations later, L had typed up everything to do with the case and the file was suitably encrypted in a doubly encrypted folder. He'd also made a copy of everything just in case, and it was currently on a memory card, stored in a special wallet in his pocket. Sighing, and stretching slightly, he realised that the room hadn't exactly been... quiet. He looked at Harry. Ryuuzaki's secret identity was L, and Ryuuki's was Harry. Either way, he didn't look peaceful anymore. He'd curled into a ball on his side at some point, and he looked rather cold, as he hadn't pulled the blankets up before falling asleep. Perhaps he'd been too tired; he had been saying rather silly things after all.

L considered waking him, and telling him to pull the blankets up; at least then he would stop shivering and making noises in his sleep. Now that he'd noticed, it was the sort of thing that he wouldn't be able to _stop_ noticing until it was fixed, and he wouldn't get any more work done. Somehow though, L didn't think that Harry... Ryuuki would appreciate being woken up barely two hours after falling asleep, especially not with how tired he'd been. If he kept this up however, Ryuuki would end up waking himself. What do people usually do when someone is sleeping badly? Perhaps he should call Watari.

L opened the chat window and saw that Watari was no longer online, which meant he'd gone to sleep. Ryuuki's shivering was getting worse now, and he had curled into an even tighter ball, and was now muttering something unintelligible. A nightmare then. L considered his options, before leaning forward and pinching the blankets between thumbs and forefingers, and quietly pulling them up and carefully dropping them on Ryuuki. What L didn't expect was for Ryuuki to flinch violently, and for his breathing to become more irregular. L wasn't made for this. He only had one idea left, and it left a sour taste in his mouth. He opened a Google search window, and typed in 'nightmares'. Seeing something that looked promising, he clicked on a link to information about nightmares on Wikipedia. It sounded about right. He briefly wondered what Ryuuki was seeing in his nightmares, but one look at his scars was enough to give L a rough idea. He copied and pasted some information on 'image reversal therapy' and closed his laptop.

Shaking him wouldn't be a good idea, since he didn't like the blanket. Maybe calling him?

"Ryuuki-kun."

"Ryuuki!"

"RYUUKI!"

That would be a no then. Plus it would be a wonder if Ryuuki could hear him anymore. He sighed. He really was not meant to be in situations like this, he was terrible with other people. He was terrible with _himself_. That was why people like Watari existed. Watari! He wouldn't actually mind being woken up now. He took his phone out of his pocket and speed dialled Watari.

"_L?"_ said a sleepy sounding Watari. Ryuuki was almost crying in his sleep by this point.

"I apologise for waking you Watari, but I am rather unsure of what else to do."

"_I'll be right there. Stay on the phone and tell me what you've done so far."_

"I put a blanket on him, and then I searched for 'nightmares' on Google. I actually found an article on Wikipedia that could be helpful, but unfortunately he has to practice it when he is awake." There was a gusty sigh from the other end of the phone, and L heard a door opening and closing.

"_Anything else?"_

"Yes, I called his name three times but he did not wake up."

"_I shall be there soon."_

"Thank you Watari."

L sat crouched in a tighter ball than usual, hugging his knees, and tried to listen to see if he could recognise any of the words. There were no English words strangely enough, but he could make out a Japanese 'no' and 'stop' and 'never', and he thought he heard a rather eerie sounding 'mine' before Watari opened the door.

"Ah. L, I'm afraid you will have to sit on him again; otherwise you could be injured when he wakes. Especially with the chain. In fact, I assume his nightmare got worse when you moved the blanket over him, and rattled the chain?"

"Ah. That explains a lot."

"It's alright to get a bit flustered in situations like this, you've never seen anyone have a full on nightmare before, so it is understandable. You never remember your own after all."

"Excuse me? My own?"

"Sit on him L. I'll get his legs."

L liked being told what to do even less than having to eat vegetables once a fortnight, so he glared at Watari before pouncing once again on Ryuuki, grabbing his wrists and pinning them above his head, which was rather difficult because Ryuuki _really_ didn't want to come out of his ball.

There was a long drawn out _awful_ scream before Ryuuki's eyes snapped open, and he looked absolutely wild.

As far as Ryuuki was concerned, he was Potter again, wrists shackled to a post in the middle of a dripping dungeon cell, naked as the day he was born and freezing his family jewels off as Walden Macnair tried _everything_ to make Harry remove his locket. The Death Eater had regained consciousness for long enough in the Great Hall to hear that Harry had possession of the Elder Wand, and like many before him he had sought the power of the wand, and had spent months planning to take it by force. Harry had no choice but to tell him it was in the locket (which was a lie, it was in his holster, but he knew better than to take it out; he was constantly guarded, and one '_expelliarmus'_ and it would be gone), and that only he could open it or remove it, which he would never do.

It stopped the Death Eaters from killing him outright since they needed him to agree to open the locket or take it off, but it didn't stop them from mutilating every bare inch of skin. This particular nightmare happened to be of the time Macnair had carved him up before he'd lost it completely and tried using his axe. He'd gotten frustrated after two weeks with no results. Luckily the locket chain really was indestructible, and had a whole host of protective charms that also protected his neck from the brunt of the force. The axe had bounced off it, and consequently his neck; leaving a terrible bruise and a chain shaped dent, but at least he wouldn't be joining the Headless Hunt anytime soon, or getting some other stupid nickname, like Half Headless Harry. It was extremely painful and he wasn't ashamed to admit that he'd broken down and cried like a baby after that time, but he still never opened his locket, or took it off. He'd already resigned himself to dying rather than letting the Hallows fall into the hands of people like _them_. The Hallows had been nothing more than a curse so far, especially the Elder Wand since word had spread that it had resurfaced.

They'd told him that they were leaving his face, since their Lord had already scarred him; and so that when they dumped his body, there would be no question of who he was. They wanted the wizarding world to recognise their dead hero, and to see what he had been reduced to.

Therefore when he woke up mid scream to feel two people holding him down, he couldn't really be blamed for what happened next.

L found himself bodily _thrown_ to the floor, and Watari barely missed a foot to his stomach.

"NO YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE DEAD AND I KILLED YOU!" screamed Ryuuki.

"RYUUKI STOP! IT'S WATARI AND L! YOU'RE IN JAPAN!" shouted Watari, whilst L sat on the floor gasping and staring wide eyed at the man on the bed, running his words through his head.

"I... Japan? I... what... ah bugger." Ryuuki sat up and rubbed his neck with his hands.

"Are you alright now Ryuuki-kun?" asked Watari gently.

"I'm sorry... it's been a really bad day; and it just... I just...lock a guy up that looks like me, and it's not going to be a nice night." Ryuuki's voice was shaky and so were his hands, which were currently tugging his hair.

"It's alright Ryuuki-kun, it happens. I'm sure you didn't choose to have a nightmare," said Watari, smiling gently. Ryuuki flinched at the word 'nightmare', his face burning in embarrassment.

The three sat in silence; L still on the floor staring wide eyed, and Watari sitting on the edge of the bed, whilst Ryuuki sat getting his bearings.

"Have you truly never talked to anyone about what has happened to you?" Watari asked, still speaking gently.

"No. I could never. It would hurt them and they wouldn't look at me the same. I can't do that to them. If I told anyone then all they would see in their minds when they looked at me would be... no, I can't say." Ryuuki mumbled, staring at his toes.

"Well my boy," Ryuuki's flinch that time almost had him falling off the bed, and he quickly interrupted.

"NO! Don't call me that, the last man who called me that was killed in front of me. Anything but that." Ryuuki's face was twisted in pain, and Watari nodded.

"I apologise, but anyone under the age of forty is a boy to me. I did not mean to upset you so." Watari's voice was still gentle, and L sat there on the floor and marvelled at how this old man, his mentor, was skilfully drawing out what information he could from Ryuuki in his vulnerable state, without actually making it worse. It was something that L was never good at. L was good at intimidating information from criminals; not coaxing information from a traumatised man too stubborn to talk.

"L and I have seen a lot in our lives, and although we haven't been through what you have, we will still listen. Isn't that right L?" L, surprised at being addressed, just nodded at Ryuuki, still wide eyed at having been _thrown_ on the _floor_, after only trying to help! Then seeing Watari skilfully handle the situation as if it were nothing!

"You perhaps, but I think that genius down there might need a couple of graphs and a pie chart." Ryuuki mumbled.

"You throw me on the floor, and then you make fun of me." L stated.

"Yeah, well, think about it; I'm in a bad situation, what am I most likely to do? It's nothing personal. You go all stony, I crack terrible jokes."

"One day, I will throw you on the floor Ryuuki-kun, and you will know why," said L, sulking and picking himself off the floor. "I assume you've finished with all that fuss now," he added grumpily.

"_L!"_ scolded Watari, appalled.

Ryuuki laughed. And he laughed.

"I actually really like you L, you always know what _not_ to say, and it cracks me up every time. Please, please continue to be socially awkward, it's extremely amusing for me, and if I'm going to be chained to you, then there has to be _something_ in it for me."

L stared. He was supposed to be annoyed, not amused!

Watari stood from the bed, and made to leave. "Well, I can see that you are both fine, and if L would still like his six o'clock cake, then I'd better be going back to sleep."

L's eyes widened yet again; and he hopped on the bed saying, "Of course Watari, I apologise once again for waking you, and can I have a chocolate cake?"

"Of course L. Ryuuki-kun, what would you like for breakfast?"

"Uhm... Treacle tart please!" Ryuuki, amazed at how fast L's mood had lifted when cake was mentioned, figured if L could have a chocolate cake for breakfast, then he could have a treacle tart.

"Make that two!" chirped L.

"Let me guess; if I get one and you don't, you'll want mine, and that's when I'd get thrown on the floor," said Ryuuki tiredly.

Watari chuckled, and L scowled.

"Scowl at me all you want, you know I'm right." L said nothing, his bad mood quickly returning.

"Watari! I meant to ask you something earlier but I forgot. Do you by any chance recognise the word 'Dumbledore'?" asked Ryuuki quietly. "It may have been a long time ago, during the second world war or thereabouts. 1945 I think it was..."

Watari stood there for a moment, deep in thought before turning to the green eyed young man. "I'm not actually sure... it's one of those times that I tend to put to the back of my mind. I was rather young. 1945... I would have been a teenager. Dumbledore was it?" inquired Watari curiously.

"That's a shame. If you'd known something about that word, I might have been able to use a loophole to give you information, and you wouldn't be restricted like I am, so you could tell L. Hopefully though I can tell you later today, and you will both understand me." He sighed, and looked between L and Watari, then at a landscape picture on the wall. "And perhaps... if I'm affected this much by it all, then you are right, and it's about time I found a way to get it out of my system."

Watari nodded. "Like I said, you can talk to us, because you obviously need someone. I was the same when I was younger; I kept all my troubles locked away from those that I cared about too. I didn't want to scare or hurt them. The thing is, if you don't get it out of your system, _it will find its way out_. And rest assured; it will be in the worst way, at the worst possible time." Ryuuki nodded and said no more.

"Goodnight L, Ryuuki-kun."

"Goodnight Watari." they chorused, before sharing another one of those strange looks. Watari just shook his head and padded back to his room.

"Ryuuki-kun," said L.

"When I tell you what you want to know, I expect you to drop the –kun, seeing as how you'll be the only person not like me to know so much about me. It's strange anyway, making people's names even longer. Being from England and this being my first time in Japan, well..." Ryuuki sighed as he twisted the blanket in his hands. "Anyway, I don't think I'll be sleeping anytime soon."

"I wouldn't need graphs and pie charts."

"If you say so."

"I do. And I'm a good listener, and I like hearing new information."

"Of course you do, you're a detective. You detect, then drag it out by any means necessary; like a bulldog with a tasty bone, you never let go. It also means you detect the most efficient way to gain your information, and because you've just watched Watari's methods yield results, you're pretending to be Mr Nice Guy. The thing is, any information given to you or Watari is just that; given. You can't force it, there's nothing you can do, and as you can see by the patchwork," he said, gesturing at himself, "absolutely nothing you could ever dream up would force me to say anything I didn't want to. The thing is, I'm perfectly willing to tell you, but I have to get permission; and to get permission, I need to travel to somewhere that you _can't_ go. This means, goodbye cuff, hello that little thing called trust. Which you seem to be lacking."

"I really don't understand why I can't come with you, since the chain explains why you can't leave me behind."

"L! Listen to me! I would go to a horrible jail, and you'd be dumped somewhere!" Ryuuki got right in L's face and spoke quietly, staring into his eyes, hoping that the message got through. "It's a terrible thing, amnesia. I knew someone once, who ended up losing everything but basic function, and a few ingrained responses. At least this guy was already stupid though, _not much for him to lose_. As far as I know, the poor chap is still recovering. Got the mentality of a ten year old. Sits in his hospital cubical signing autographs for people and grinning stupidly." Ryuuki relaxed against his pillows, staring at L and watching him absorb the information.

"So... if you were to turn up chained to me, they'd see you as a traitor? And you're also saying that I'd be found somewhere, most likely suffering from amnesia?"

Ryuuki sighed. "L they wouldn't see me as a traitor, they would see me as a monumentally stupid lawbreaker and laugh as I was thrown in jail. You don't understand! In fact, if I turned up chained to you, no matter who you are I would never live it down; there's a vile bug of a woman who would be all too happy to write a whole book about it. Including how the chain was there for _romantic_ purposes."

L stared wide eyed, glancing at the chain and then Ryuuki.

"Just listen to me and believe me because I am telling you a lot here, but none of it makes sense to you, and it never will unless you can trust me enough to let me go. You've barely mentioned Kira at all because you're so busy obsessing over my secrets! It's getting ridiculous." Ryuuki threw his hands up in frustration.

"You should try and get more sleep Ryuuki-kun."

"I know, but after that I won't be able to. In fact, what time is it?"

"It is 1:15am, Ryuuki-kun."

"Minus 9 hours so that's..."

"4:15pm"

"Yes, yes I was getting there. Listen, if I leave now, I can catch them both hopefully before they leave for home. I might have to make an appointment to visit one of them, but the other will make time to see me if he has to. I'd have to leave very soon though. Otherwise we wait until 6pm Tokyo time. In fact, the one who will make time for me will make the other one make time for me, so that all works out. I'm actually rather excited to tell you, I've never had to tell anyone before!" said Ryuuki excitedly, bouncing on the bed and causing L to put out his hands to steady himself, which made Ryuuki grin mischievously.

"I'd have to tell them who you are, but they don't need to know what you look like! Or even your real name! All they will need is your title, and me!" he continued, grinning happily and poking his chest with his thumbs.

"How can I trust that you would come back, and that you won't disappear, thereby forcing me to hunt you down?" asked L shrewdly.

"I..." Ryuuki paused. "You are going to feel really bad about this when I come back, and I tell you the world's biggest secret, and everything I've gone through to keep it safe. You can be sure that I will come back, because, well, you'll have my locket."

L stared as, for the second time that day, Ryuuki – no, _Harry_ – locked eyes with his own and reached up to remove the locket. Harry unclasped the locket, still staring at L, who found that there was a big difference between looking through cameras, and reality.

"As a matter of fact... how do _I_ know that _you_ will still be here, with my locket, upon my return?" Harry said just as shrewdly back, dangling his locket in front of him in a clenched fist.

L stared. And stared. He had no idea what to do or say. He watched the locket swing. Suddenly he had an idea...

"That locket is extremely important to you, right?" he inquired.

"It is unbelievably important, monumentally important, and I would die to keep it safe. It's the only thing I have which can't be replaced by your standards. It's the only one like it in existence, and it belonged to my mother; in fact, it was her that did all the fancy work on it." Harry said seriously.

L reached into his pocket, with all of his logic and reason screaming at him to _stop this_, to _stop his hand_, but he could see the utter honesty of the other man, and he knew; whatever this man was hiding, was big. Of course, it didn't help that L was a rather childish person really, and couldn't resist. He slowly brought out a small wallet.

"This," he started, holding up the plain black wallet, "contains all of my outstanding case files. In other words, these are cases that I have taken on, and solved, but have not yet called in. I can't give you the entire wallet, for reasons that I won't be telling you until a later date; but I can give you one memory card that if lost, could severely tarnish my reputation as a detective. Something I value very much. I have never failed to solve a case, but without vital information, most of my work can not be redone. Information which happens to be stored on these cards." Of course, he didn't mention _which_ reputation it would tarnish, or how many copies of the information existed, but it would be a nuisance to replace a lost memory card. They did have a couple of special features after all.

They both sat facing each other on the bed, each visibly reluctant to part with their respective bargaining chips; evaluating each other silently before quickly swapping items, and looking away.

"Please tell me Watari doesn't have the key." Ryuuki sighed.

"Watari doesn't have the key," L replied.

Ryuuki sighed again before saying, "Now tell me that it's true."

L smirked, before once again sticking his leg out and digging. Merlin knows what he had in there, and how he found everything, but soon enough there was a small silver key in his hand. He swiftly reached over and unlocked the cuff from Harry's wrist before undoing his own.

"L, we have a slight problem."

"What would that be Ryuuki-kun?" L asked quietly.

"These trousers have no pockets, and I find that I have a memory card to keep... oh dear. L, where I'm going, could possibly destroy the data on the card; I can't believe I almost forgot that... that would have been seriously bad. Take it back, you keep it and the locket safe, and this way you don't have to lie to Watari or anything. It's enough that you told me about them, and then actually handed one over. That's what counts, so I trust you. I'd easily find you anyway. Just... keep that in your pocket."

L had walked over to a set of drawers and was already holding out a pair of jeans.

"You can't go out wearing pyjama bottoms."

"Ah, thanks L!" said Ryuuki happily, mentally thinking about what he'd soon be transfiguring them into. Oh well. Good thing he had spells for a decent turtleneck too. A minute later he left the bathroom looking like a green-eyed straight-backed L. L himself, just stared. It reminded him of when Beyond had pretended to be him, only it was obvious that Ryuuki wasn't.

"Yeah, it's a bit weird huh?" said Ryuuki, gesturing between them and grinning.

"Peculiar."

"That's the one," laughed Ryuuki. He stopped suddenly and looked at L. "Right. Well I'll be off. I'll be as fast as I can, which is _unbelievably_ fast. Then I'll tell you all about where I've been! Don't worry, I'm not getting on a plane or anything, I haven't any money for a start. Okay I'm laying it on thick, but you'll see!" Ryuuki grinned at L, his biggest, most secretive grin yet. "Then, that _idiot_ Kira won't stand a chance! See you soon, chain buddy!"

"Until later, Ryuuki-kun."

Ryuuki walked towards the door, turning and tilting his head slightly to glance at L.

"Actually... I should tell you something before I go. When I come back, I will likely be extremely exhausted, and I shall require rest. This really means sleep; otherwise I'm like a bear with a sore head," he remarked absently, before he visibly shook his head, "So you might have to wait a few more hours for your answers, but that would happen no matter what. Bye!"

With that, Ryuuki slipped out of the room, leaving a frustrated L with empty handcuffs and plenty of questions.

How on Earth did he contact his 'group', and where could he possibly go, quickly, and without any money whatsoever? Especially to get in touch with people that would allow him to tell a secret that big? Now that Harry was gone, and he wasn't looking at him, L began to wonder, and he was insanely glad that Harry had given that memory card back or he'd be feeling a whole new level of foolishness at that moment. If he was lying, then Harry was definitely the best con-man he'd ever met, better even than Aiber.

Was Harry telling the truth, or was he just stringing him along? Was he walking down the street right now, laughing his head off about how he'd duped the world's greatest detective with only a locket? He walked over to the windows, which always had the curtains shut wherever he stayed, and peeked out just in time to see Harry walk out of the front entrance. It was dark, but the street was fairly well lit and L could clearly see his white shirt. L followed with his eyes as he looked around before staring at an alleyway across the road. Harry nimbly dodged a passing car, crossed the road and paused at the entrance to the narrow alleyway. L watched him turn before he looked towards the hotel windows. Harry spotted him almost instantly, giving him a nod before disappearing into the alleyway.

L knew that particular alleyway, and it was a dead end. In fact, there was one of their cameras placed there... L ran to grab his laptop and a few seconds later, he was standing back by the window, waiting impatiently for it to download the last five minutes of feed. However, before the download could finish, the file was somehow corrupted. L salvaged what he could of the file, and a few seconds later he watched, eyes flicking between window and screen as Harry entered the alleyway, and _waved_ _a_ _stick?_

A split second later, the screen was filled with static. L leaned forward, looking down at the alleyway, and rapidly scanning the street. He didn't see Harry anywhere. He watched until around ten minutes later, when he noticed that the camera was mysteriously working again, and he slowly looked back to his laptop, staring at the empty alleyway showing on his screen, no sign of Harry anywhere to be found.

What on _Earth_ had just happened? _Where did he go?_

-xXxXxXxXxXxXx-

**A/N:** OMG, 19 hours work with a few breaks here and there, and a phonecall to my mum (let's hear it; Awwwww!) and I got the first rendition of this out. YAY! Only the editing to go, before trudging onwards to ch6...

I will say that this chapter did NOT turn out the way it was supposed to. This just wasn't supposed to happen yet, but it had to! It was inevitable that Harry wouldn't sleep well, so it couldn't have _not_ happened. Then lo and behold, but the time matched up, and who would be able to sleep after dreaming of an axe hitting their neck with nothing but a locket chain to stop it... brrrr. Not nice at all! All this, before even meeting the maniac! I still feel bad though because stuff just seems to be slotting into weird places and I'm sure it will come back to bite me later on! Especially since it's all in my head, and writing a summary of things seems to take the joy out of it all somehow, making it plainer than it's supposed to be.

I'm really just seeing where this takes me, it's a lot of fun and I'm really enjoying trying to think like the characters! Not much to laugh about in this chapter but oh well... maybe next chapter. Big thanks to all of you out there who have reviewed, favourited, or put this story on your alert lists! I'm glad that others are enjoying my story; it's like a warm cup of hot chocolate on a cold night (If I want to be sappy about it).

Hope you liked this chapter, and the next one's the biggest yet! I think it's around 10,200 words, and I'd split it but it wouldn't feel right! Hopefully they're not all going to be that long...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The Prime Minister gave a deep sigh as he finally managed to persuade his rather energetic secretary that yes, he had enough tea and yes, he'd spoken to the Minister for Public Health already regarding increases in the hospital spending budget, and no, he was not to be disturbed for any reason as he had a report to read that was of utmost importance. He rounded his desk, glancing at the thick file waiting there for him and grimaced slightly in distaste. He hated having to read these stuffy reports, filled with useless facts and figures that told him _nothing_ of the current state of affairs. The government was losing its touch with the people, and none of these reports were going to help him regain what confidence had been lost.

There was a discrete cough suddenly from a shadowed corner, and the Prime Minister froze. It had only been just under a fortnight since he'd last heard that noise, and he hoped that whatever it was this time wouldn't involve him having to invent a plausible lie. He sighed slightly before standing from his desk, and approaching a certain painting. The painting scratched its nose and winked at him.

"Minister for Magic Arthur Weasley, and Lord Harry Potter request to see you right away Prime Minister."

"Ah, er, thank you. Just, er, send them through..." said the Prime Minister uncertainly. He hoped it wasn't any more bad news, like another Dark Lord or something. It was really bad timing if it was; he was already dealing with all these major criminals dying in their cells, although he heard that Japan had it much worse. Come to think of it, wasn't Lord Potter supposed to be in Japan...?

His thoughts were interrupted as the fireplace suddenly lit up in a blaze of green, and a redheaded man he recognised as Arthur Weasley stepped out.

"Good evening Prime Minister! I hope we haven't interrupted anything important! I'll just wait for Harry – ah, here he is!"

There was another whoosh, and a young man tumbled out headfirst, coughing and spluttering, covered in soot and getting it all over the carpet. He had to say that it looked like a rather uncomfortable experience. He recognised him - under all the soot - from the last time he'd been here to request that he visit the current Prime Minister of Japan, and as the young man who'd requested rather specialised training a few years ago, and was under a strict oath. Apparently these magical oaths really were as strict as he'd been told, and didn't allow for plain common sense, and therefore required his written consent every time the young man needed to so much as mention it to another person. If he remembered correctly, the young wizard Lord never did have the best of luck with this 'floo' system.

"Alright there Harry? Floo never agrees with you does it? Shame really. I still remember your first floo trip to Diagon Alley, ended up one grate too far, didn't you?"

The young man in question brought out his wand, and with a few short flicks, both he and the carpet were clean. He sighed deeply as his wand somehow disappeared from his hand.

"Yes Arthur, but I'm sure the Prime Minister must be very busy and wouldn't want to hear all about that, not that there's much to tell." The redheaded Minister hummed an agreement before he flicked his wand at the office door, locking it with a swift _click_, and putting up silencing and imperturbable charms.

The Prime Minister collected himself and cleared his throat. "What can I do for you today gentlemen?"

"Actually it's Harry here who needs a word with you, I'll just be leaving. Oh and Harry, just come through to my office when you're done and we'll sort it all out, not to worry! I'll have Molly send us a snack through the floo; I don't think much of the Ministry cafeteria food... we'll have to see about changing that, I suppose! Goodbye for now, Prime Minister!"

With a whoosh and a roar, the Minister for Magic had disappeared through the fireplace.

Harry cleared his throat and looked to the Prime Minister, who looked rather flustered.

"Sorry about him, he's just rather excited is all..." said Harry, gesturing towards where Arthur, as he'd been explicitly told to call him, had vanished just moments before.

"Not to worry, Lord Potter. Now what seems to be the problem?" he asked, fervently hoping that there wasn't one. He gestured to the seat in front of his desk.

Harry sat down and scratched his head.

"Well, there isn't exactly much of a problem. I need permission to speak about my muggle training, but it's not a wizard this time, and it's not to pass on the knowledge. They are muggles, and it would be better for all concerned if they know. Arthur has already given me permission to waive the Statute of Secrecy in their case." said Harry. The Prime Minister looked visibly relieved.

"May I ask who, and for what reason?" asked the Prime Minister curiously.

"Right, well I can't give you his real name but you would know him as the detective L, and his associate would also need to be informed."

"_L?_ As in the World's Greatest Detective? _That_ L? And his associate, Watari?" exclaimed the Prime Minister in surprise.

"Yes sir, I'm sure you remember that I went across to keep an eye on the Kira case in Japan, under the name of Kinjo Ryuuki."

"Of course. Do you suspect that there is magic involved?" he asked warily.

"We can't be certain at the moment, but this case is already very public; if magic is involved then I am certain that with L and I working together from both angles, we can resolve this matter much faster than we would working separately. As you can probably imagine, I'm having a hard time convincing the man to trust me at all with all these secrets I'm keeping. With Arthur granting me permission to disclose that I am a Wizard, the only reason he would have to mistrust me would be the confidential training I received, a lot of which he probably already knows exists," Harry said, hoping that the Prime Minister wouldn't be unreasonable.

"Ah, I see. I suppose with him being a detective and all, you're finding yourself under heavy scrutiny. So does it work the usual way, even though they're muggles? And what about their names?"

"All you'd have to do is write out the same statement as you did for the others; only instead of their names, use 'the muggle commonly known as the detective L, and the muggle commonly known as the detective L's associate, Watari' and that will be fine."

"So... You've met him then?"

"No, I haven't met him yet. I assume that will soon change however, if I prove to be trustworthy, but I can't be sure." he lied smoothly.

"Such a shame, I've always wondered what he's like as a person. I daresay he must be rather clever."

Harry grinned, and remarked, "I should hope so, to be the world's best detective."

The Prime Minister grinned back as he took out a fresh sheet of paper, and picked up his favourite pen. He wrote,

_I, the Prime Minister, do hereby willingly give permission for Lord Harry James Potter to reveal the secrets of his muggle training to the muggle known as the detective L, and the muggle known as L's associate Watari, without compromising the identities of those involved in the aforementioned training. _

_Signed,_

_30__th__ December 2004_

The Prime Minister signed the note with a flourish, and held it out. He was rather pleased to be dealing with Lord Potter rather than the Minister himself, or his Undersecretary; although he was young for a Lord, he seemed a lot less _crazy_ than most of the wizards he had witnessed step through the fireplace.

Harry took the note from him before tapping it with his wand. The note rolled itself up, before sealing itself and wriggling into Harry's trouser pocket.

"Thank you sir, I appreciate it."

"Strange..." mumbled the Prime Minister.

"I know sir, I still find it strange sometimes and I've lived there for almost thirteen years! It's amazing what we can do really... shame about that misunderstanding with the pitchforks," Harry remarked absently, "Anyway, I shall leave you to your work, I'm sure you've got plenty of important business to attend to! Thanks again for the permission, and hopefully we'll have this Kira business sorted soon. We'll let you know!" With that, the young man waved goodbye before flicking his wand a few times around the room, and vanishing in a roar of green flames.

The Prime Minister let out the breath he'd been holding, thankful once again that there wasn't a charred body in his fireplace. He didn't think he'd ever get used to people just appearing and disappearing to and from his office, surrounded by eerie green flames.

-xXxXxXxXxXxXx-

Harry tumbled backwards out of the fireplace in Arthur Weasley's office and yelped as he landed roughly on his backside, having somehow turned himself around in the floo network, much to his dismay and eternal mortification.

"Harry, lad! Are you alright down there?" Arthur chuckled slightly when he saw that Harry was indeed alright, if not looking a bit worse for wear.

"Here – let me," Arthur said, waving his wand and vanishing all traces of soot from Harry's vicinity.

"Thanks Arthur," said Harry, smiling gratefully.

"I must say Harry, that it's much better seeing you with your face back to normal! You gave me rather a shock when I first saw you come out of the fireplace! How did the visit with the Prime Minister go? He's not so bad really as far as politicians go," said Arthur, cutting a slice out of a rather large apple pie that was sitting on his desk, and placing it into a bowl.

"It went fine Arthur; I got written permission to tell both of them, so I won't be dying by breaking my oath any time soon. I didn't get a chance to tell you much before meeting with the Prime Minister, but I'm not sure if spreading what knowledge I have is a good idea." Harry took the bowl of pie gratefully.

"Understood Harry; but I absolutely _must_ know. Is it something magical?" asked Arthur excitedly. Honestly, these days it was difficult for Arthur to be in any other mood. After Fred's death, the family as a whole had been depressed for months, before George had called a family meeting, including Harry and Hermione. He'd stated that when he was alive, all Fred had wanted was to make everyone laugh, and that he wouldn't want everyone to stop living just because he had. He'd want them to remember the good times and to enjoy their freedom, and to prank as many people as possible. George had stated that he would choose to live his life to the fullest, and to remember that his twin brother was a hero who died fighting for what he believed in, and that he wasn't going to throw away that freedom by being miserable.

Everyone had stared at George, before Arthur had stood and begun clapping, tears in his eyes as he said how proud he was. Soon everyone was clapping and crying, even Fleur. After that, the Weasley family was back with a vengeance; Arthur especially seemed to be taking his sons words to heart, and every new challenge was met with an almost childish enthusiasm.

"There's no solid evidence that it is something magical, but little else makes much sense. The muggles don't have anything out there that can use a person's name and face to kill them, and I'm almost certain that a muggle got their hands on an artefact of some sort; otherwise a wizard would have died. I'm sure Hermione's been in the British Wizarding Library, looking for anything that causes heart attacks, and she'll let me know if she finds anything. L made a good point earlier though. We need to keep this as quiet as possible, otherwise there will be groups that will actively try to find this weapon, both muggle and wizard, and then we would have _big_ problems. There are still a few Death Eaters loose, and there were always plenty of sympathisers, and the last thing we need is for one of them to get their hands on this weapon. It would be worse than Voldemort, and we'd all become hostages. It's not difficult for us wizards to find a name after all. It needs to be destroyed as soon as possible," said Harry, talking around mouthfuls of pie.

"Quite right, Harry," said Arthur also with his mouth full. "We can't let something like that fall into the wrong hands, it would be a disaster. What is it like over there?"

"They talk funny, and they eat strange food. Although, I've found that ramen is really good. I stay away from everything else though, too raw for my tastes. The men in the police department have been nice, very welcoming. It's pretty hectic, though I get the feeling that most of the men won't be sticking around for long. This 'Kira' is all they're talking about in the newspapers, and it's got everyone panicking." Harry took another large spoonful of pie, and almost moaned; it was absolutely delicious.

"Well, like I said Harry; I trust your judgement, and if you say that this L and his associate need to know of our world to help you, then so be it. I'll write up the necessary papers as soon as I've finished this lovely slice of pie! I daresay that Molly has outdone herself this time; it's a new recipe she said. I shall have to ask her what spices she added, it really makes all the difference, whatever it is..."

Harry had his mouth full but nodded his head in agreement, and he wondered absently what L would make of Molly Weasley's pie. He reluctantly swallowed, his mouth already missing the taste.

"Mr Weasley, could I possibly take some of this with me? It's the best apple pie I've ever tasted, and could you tell Molly I said so?" asked Harry before stuffing the last spoonful in his mouth.

"Go ahead son, help yourself! Merlin knows how many she's made this time, there's probably a whole cupboard full steaming away at home," Arthur replied, conjuring a napkin and wiping his mouth after finishing his slice.

Harry sliced off a chunk off pie with a quick spell, and conjured a covered dish, before applying a warming charm. Looking back towards Arthur, he saw the man signing his name on a piece of parchment.

"Here you go Harry," he said, holding out the parchment. "Make sure he keeps that on his person at all times, and tell him that if he should run into anything magical, all he needs to do is show them this parchment, and he won't be obliviated. However," here he looked sternly at Harry, "he will be your responsibility. Make sure he doesn't do anything strange; you never know how he'll take it." Harry nodded, before taking the parchment and scanning it briefly.

_By the Order of the Minister of Magic for Great Britain, I hereby declare that the muggle holder of this notice, known only as L, shall be allowed to possess knowledge pertaining to the Wizarding World, and is therefore exempt from Obliviation. Any concerns should be addressed to Lord Potter._

_Signed, Arthur Weasley, Minister of Magic for Great Britain_

_30__th__ December, 2004 _

Arthur continued, "Make sure you put the necessary spellwork on there, and key it to him, but I suppose that you know all that already." Harry nodded before looking sheepish.

"Er, Arthur I may have forgotten to mention; I also need another one for L's associate Watari," said Harry apologetically.

"Ah! Yes, I do remember you mentioning him at some point, Watari was it?" Harry nodded gratefully. "No worries Harry, it's the same for Watari. Make sure that neither of them do anything too crazy. I remember hearing about this one muggle woman who started throwing things and screaming about devil spawn, I have no idea where she got that silly idea from! Obliviated of course, but still, the things muggles come up with! Fascinating!" Arthur rambled, scribbling on another sheet of parchment before handing it over to Harry with a genial smile. "You heading back to Japan?"

Harry took the parchment and scanned it. It was much the same as the one for L.

"Not yet, I'm going to stop by Marauder Isle first and pick up some books. Hopefully that will help explain a few things. He's the type to never be satisfied until he knows something inside out."

"A bit like our Hermione then! It sounds like you'll have your work cut out for you. Do stop by the Burrow for dinner the next time you come over, and bring this L fellow and his associate with you! I do miss talking with the muggles, and Molly would be delighted to find more test subjects for her recipes."

"We'll see Arthur, he's not really a people person. Anyway I'd better get going; it'll take a while to get through the Isle's passageway, and I've been gone for an hour and a half as it is," said Harry, looking at his watch.

"Alright then Harry, it's been good to see you, although you look like you could do with a rest son," Arthur said with a frown.

"It's the middle of the night in Japan, Arthur!" laughed Harry, grabbing the pie and heading towards the door.

"Ah of course, of course... You take care now, Harry! Molly will skin you alive before feeding you up if you don't!" he called, before Harry opened the door.

"Don't I know it; I think I'll always be too thin for Molly's liking!"

"Very true!"

Harry closed the door to the sound of Arthur's laughter. Most of the Ministry workers had already left for the evening, and it was only the Auror department and the Unspeakables that should still have anyone around, but Harry still felt uncomfortable walking through the empty corridors towards the lift. He hated being out in public, and the Ministry building was as public as you could get really, with so many witches and wizards employed there.

Luckily, he reached the apparition point without meeting anyone on the way, and was soon standing in the underground cavern that served as an apparition point for his home; a small unplottable island he'd bought just off the eastern coast of Scotland, and named Marauders Isle. The underground cavern was the only place on the whole island where it was safe to apparate, and even then you had to be authorised. It hadn't taken long outside of Hogwarts for Harry to realise that yes, fans, reporters and Death Eaters alike would pay large sums of money to find out where he lived, and he refused to be locked away in Grimmauld Place to escape them. Marauders Isle had been the answer to all of his problems, and he could even fly whenever he wanted to. He'd spent a lot of time over the years working on his house, and learning the necessary spells, especially when he'd been recovering. He started walking along the passageway, the torches he'd embedded there five years ago briefly sputtering to life as he approached, and sputtering out again once he'd passed. Unlike normal torches however, these glowed with a whitish silvery flame, like smoke that glowed from within. It had been an accident really, but then Harry had realised that he liked the smoky flame better, and had actually been glad of his magic acting up that time.

It took twenty minutes before Harry reached the end of the passageway, where there was a simple magical elevator that would take him up to his entrance hall. The house wasn't huge, since only Harry lived there, but there was enough space to have a few of his friends over for the weekend and for everyone to be comfortable.

Harry quickly made his way through the house towards the library. With Hermione as a friend, there was no way he _couldn't_ have a decent library. Standing on a slightly raised area with only a small table, he called out a few potentially useful titles.

"Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century, Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts – Voldemort Edition, Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts – Grindelwald Edition, Magical Theory by Adelbert Waffling, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newton Scamander, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp."

Soon books were flying through the air towards Harry, who waited until they had piled themselves onto the table before summoning an empty trunk. With a few wand flicks the books were stacked neatly inside, and Harry paused.

"Hogwarts – A History."

The requested book soon landed on the table and joined the others in the trunk. On a whim, he dumped the pie dish in there too, before making his way to the living room with his floating trunk behind him, where he proceeded to shrink his entire muggle entertainment system, including his new Playstation 2, which joined the books and the pie dish in the trunk along with GTA San Andreas, his magical chess set, and some sort of floating puzzle that Hermione had bought him one year for Christmas.

Thinking for a moment, Harry grinned and summoned a second empty trunk on his way to the bedroom, closing and locking the other with a couple of flicks.

Suddenly there was a loud _crack_.

"Master Harry has returned from pretending to be a filthy muggle... can almost smell the filth on him... filthy muggles and their stinking wheeled boxes of death..." muttered the elf as he followed Harry.

"Lovely to see you too Kreacher, although remember what I've been teaching you! It may be filthy compared to magic, but the muggles have come a long way! Remember the toaster?" Harry said, mockingly serious. Once all was said and done, Harry and Kreacher had reached an understanding with each other. After listening closely to the elf's irrational ramblings, he actually found some of what Kreacher said _funny_. The deal was simple; if Kreacher wanted to preach to him about the 'muggle filth', he would reward the old elf by preaching back at him. The more Kreacher preached, the more Harry would talk about muggle inventions, and even read out articles from muggle newspapers until Kreacher was almost tying his ears into a knot under his chin to keep from hearing more. It had turned out to be rather effective, but when he was away for a few days, it was like Kreacher had to vent or something when Harry returned, like making up for lost time.

"Filthy muggles, playing with things they don't understand, will be the ruin of us all, wretched things. Toasting bread with a filthy machine that burns Kreachers fingers," remarked Kreacher sullenly.

"Well if you'd have believed me when I said it was hot, and that the bread would pop out by itself, you wouldn't have gotten your fingers burned."

"It's those muggles Master Harry, them and their electricity. Not a spark of magic in them, just taking up more and more space... should get rid of the nasty muggles."

"And yet here we are, sharing a planet with millions of them, along with everything else magical and non-magical. We're trying to get along peacefully here, without killing off entire races Kreacher."

"Making nice clean air stink, nothing peaceful about muggles, Master Harry. Noisy nasty little vermin. Master Harry should be a proper wizard and stay well away from the nasty noisy stinking muggles."

"Enough now Kreacher. Have any letters arrived while I've been away? Oh and I'll be taking my bedroom with me, and the potions lab, so don't hunt me down when you find them missing."

"...no letters, but Master Harry-"

"It's for a good reason Kreacher, and it should turn out to be a rather good prank on a person who really needs a good pranking."

-xXxXxXxXxXxXx-

L was furious.

He'd spent the last three hours alternating between watching camera footage of Ryuuki, and scanning the street below to see if he had returned. So far, there had been no sign of him. The more time that passed by, the more stupid and hoodwinked L felt, and the more furious he became until he punched the wall in frustration, biting his lip as pain shot up his arm. _Nobody_ had ever managed to make him fall for their tricks; and for someone to be in a cell one day, and to be out of his reach the next, even with them being chained together, was completely unheard of. The pain calmed him somewhat, and he reminded himself of a few important facts.

That locket was _not_ normal. Even after sitting on his desk for fifteen minutes being stared at, it was still slightly warm - as if it had been held for a long time - which should be impossible. He'd placed it in the hotel's mini-fridge half an hour ago, and five minutes ago he'd checked it to find that it was _still_ warm, and had put it back in his pocket, more than slightly baffled.

Ryuuki had disappeared from a dead end alleyway, and the camera just happened to malfunction at that exact moment? More to the point, it was one of _Watari's_ cameras; therefore it should be tamper proof!

L hated not being in control, and right now, he was most definitely _not_ in control. There was something there, something _else_, something that was just out of his grasp, and he felt so _close_; and yet at the same time so very far away. Roughly thrusting his hand into his pocket, his fingers closed around the familiar shape of a lollipop. He brought it out and glared at it before tearing the wrapper off with his teeth and jamming it into his mouth. The wrapper fluttered to the floor unnoticed.

_Nothing about that man made sense! _

He glared out of the window, resisting the urge to crush the lollipop between his teeth.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

Harry made sure he had everything he needed before making his way to the entrance hall. Once there, he walked over to a large mirror and carefully changed his appearance to that of Kinjo Ryuuki along with applying the necessary translation charms, before walking back down the passageway to the apparition point. Looking down slightly, he grimaced before returning his borrowed clothes to their original state mid-stride, and congratulated himself for actually remembering to put on some real socks and shoes; the ones he'd worn to see both Ministers having been badly conjured. He was never any good at conjuring comfortable footwear, it always somehow felt like he was walking on sand. It was too little too late in his opinion though, the likelihood being that the soles of his feet were probably already black from walking through the service corridors of whatever hotel it was that they were staying in.

Reaching the apparition point - and hoping he wouldn't pass out at the other end - Ryuuki disillusioned himself before apparating to the empty back alley in Japan.

He stumbled only slightly on his arrival, feeling the accompanying wave of fatigue pull him under before everything slowly began to right itself, and he leaned against the wall slightly as the feeling of nausea abated. Wearily he waved his wand, emitting the same pulse he'd used before departing, just in case there were security cameras here. He doubted it, but you could never be too sure. Dropping the disillusionment charm, he walked out of the alley and across the street towards the hotel.

He cast a slight notice-me-not charm before he entered the hotel, the receptionist not even looking up from whatever she was writing as he walked past on his way to the elevator.

Soon he found himself outside the correct door, but without a room key or a card. No worries, he had a wand. Seeing that the corridor was empty, he flicked his wrist, brought out his wand, and pointed it at the door. "_Alohomora_!" One click. "_Alohomora_!" A second click; and the door swung open easily. He supposed he could have apparated straight into the hotel room, but he had something else in mind. The door quietly closed behind him. Harry made sure it was locked, and made his way across the short hall to the opposite door, stashing his wand away before delivering a few sharp knocks.

Not even a second later, the door opened to reveal a rather annoyed looking L who promptly grabbed his left wrist and slapped a cuff on it, almost dragging him into the room before shutting the door. Ryuuki just gaped like a fish before regaining his composure slightly, still rather foggy after apparating a third of the way around the world.

"I suppose I should have seen that coming. What is it with you and handcuffs?"

"How did you get in the first door?" L demanded, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Charming. You really have been stewing over all this haven't you? Right, well to be honest that door wasn't much of an obstacle for someone like me. In fact 'charming' sort of applies to the door as well as being a sarcastic description of your greeting."

"Someone like you?" L was confused, and not much of what was being said made any sense to him. It was a rather strange feeling, and yet another sensation that he didn't particularly care for. Ryuuki seemed to have a natural talent for digging out pet peeves he never even knew he had. At that moment he had no idea how stupid people managed to live with the deficiency without throwing themselves off a cliff or under a bus, but his brain supplied him with a simple answer; they were ignorant of their ignorance, therefore allowing them to bumble along, happily dense as they go about their daily lives.

L however knew he was smart, and could calculate rather precisely exactly what level of stupid he felt at any given time. The current figure was far too high for his liking, possibly the highest it's been since he was a toddler, and the worst of it was that Ryuuki actually sounded like he was talking perfect sense. His words flowed naturally, he was confident, and he actually believed his own words. Either Ryuuki was a special breed of crazy, or L himself was missing a crucial piece of information, yet another of his pet peeves. At least he'd discovered this peeve by himself though. Childish, yes; but quite frankly he'd come to terms with that aspect of his personality a long time ago, and in fact was rather attached to it.

Hence the slight feelings of inadequacy; and then the stronger feelings telling him that he was an idiot, and that he'd lost a game he hadn't even been aware of playing.

"Yes, someone like me. I assume you know much more than me about genetics, and evolution, and anything else to do with biology so I'll skip the very boring scientific lectures and you can think about it the next time you can't sleep. Now, watch and learn young grasshopper."

Ryuuki flicked his wrist, and his wand appeared. Glancing at L told him that the man hadn't cottoned on yet, and thought it was your average something-hidden-up-sleeve-trick. He mentally smirked, and kept his eyes fixed on L's blank face as he brought out two little wooden blocks and threw them randomly onto the carpet.

"Before we get started, I have something for you, before I forget."

Ryuuki flicked his wand at the slightly darker block, and L stared blankly as the block started to grow in size, until it became clear that he was looking at a wooden trunk. An impossible trunk that just happened to go from being the size of a matchbox to being the size of a large coffee table in the time it would take for him to properly chew and swallow a bite of cake.

"What... I... Perhaps I have been awake for too long," said L absently, eyes dilated impossibly wide and face even paler than Ryuuki thought should be possible.

"L? You alright? Here's me trying to tell you my big secret, and you're off in your own world! Honestly! Anyway, come on and I'll show you something." Ryuuki grinned and almost dragged an unresisting L to the bedroom he'd slept in earlier.

"It's a nice room you know, and I may be rather biased, but my room's better. A lot more... homey, you know?" Ryuuki grinned at a shell-shocked L, who was frozen in the doorway staring at him. L found that his brain was curiously blank, and vaguely wondered if this is how people felt before they fainted. Perhaps he'd fallen asleep at the window, and Ryuuki was yet to return, his mind creating a lovely fantasy for him as he slept. He'd wake up when Watari brought his cake, peel his face off the window, everything would be back to normal, and the laws of physics would be restored.

Ryuuki started flicking his wand around the room, and soon the bed, the nightstand, the wardrobe, desk, chair and sideboard were shrinking, and zooming over to Ryuuki before hovering next to him.

"I suggest you take them out of the air, they're real you know." L's jaw was slack, and his wide eyes were seeing the images, but his brain was having trouble coping. His hand slowly reached out automatically, closing his hand around the bed bobbing a foot in front of his nose, and he felt a _snap_ as it was released from whatever had been holding it aloft. Bringing it closer to his face and staring uncomprehendingly at the tiny rumpled bed in his hand, L's brain swiftly kicked back into gear, telling him that this was _real_. Slowly L raised his eyes, only to see Ryuuki standing there with a gentle smile as he watched him, surrounded by miniature furniture which was happily bobbing around Ryuuki's head. Frantically, L grabbed the desk as it bobbed past, and stared intently at it, before doing the same with the rest of the furniture. A few minutes later, and with his arms rather full, he once again raised his eyes and stared at Ryuuki, disbelieving.

"I know. Anyway, these walls are rather boring, don't you think?" A flick later, and the walls were dark blue rather than the dull beige they had been previously. "Actually, that's a bit dark... Let's see..." A flick, and the walls were sunshine yellow. "Ouch, nope, too bright..." Another flick, and the colour seemed to leech from the walls as they finally settled on a cheery pale yellow.

"That stick..." breathed L.

"Ah, that's much better. This is my wand. This magic is a part of every Wizard, Witch, or magical creature from birth, and a wand channels it for us. However, not everything requires a wand."

"Impossible..." said L faintly, refusing to believe that magic - something he'd _known_ since a young age didn't actually exist - was in fact real. Ryuuki just smirked, and started waving his wand again. L stared as Ryuuki made a tiny floating four poster bed bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until it was its proper size, floating about two feet from the ground. Then he watched as Ryuuki moved the bed into position, pointing his wand where he wanted the bed to go, and giving little flicks when he needed to turn it slightly.

"Well, you just keep standing there, watching me, until you start believing that it's possible because I assure you, this is no joke, although it's rather funny from where I'm standing! Magic is real, it exists, and my 'group' is actually an entire society hidden right under everyone's noses!" Ryuuki paused in his furniture arranging, leaned forward, stared into L's astonished eyes and frowned. "I seem to have knocked you off your perch, and the look on your face is just priceless! It's a shame I didn't bring the camera, you'd have liked that... although I brought books so you'll see lots of pictures I suppose."

"Books?" L inquired, a slight interested spark appearing in his eyes.

"Yes, yes, I brought books. Of course I brought books, I know your type. I have a friend who is without a doubt the smartest Witch of our age. In fact it's the friend who holds a patent for one of her inventions." Ryuuki stifled a yawn behind his wand hand, and L tensed as the wand pointed in his direction for a moment. "Magical patent of course. Now I hope you remember me mentioning that I had something for you; but first, I'll have my locket back."

"About that locket. It's not normal is it? It even stayed warm after twenty five minutes in the fridge."

"You put it in the-? Wait, I don't want to know. I'd just rather have it back. Its secrets will have to wait however. I have a rather important piece of paper to give you, and what looks to be a rather long winded speech to get through, and then I am going to bed! Apparating long distances leaves me tired and a bit rude so – oh never mind! I forgot how stubborn you are, and you probably want to _dissect_ it. _Accio_ _locket!_"

L jerked in shock and could only watch as the locket jumped out of his pocket and sailed over to Ryuuki's waiting hand. He refastened it around his neck before speaking.

"I tell you now L, this locket never leaves my neck again as long as I live. If I'd refused in the cell, there might have been problems when you realised that you couldn't remove it forcibly, and it really is terribly illegal to perform magic in front of muggles. Muggle being the word used to describe those with no magic." Just then there was a tapping noise coming from the window. Ryuuki growled before making his way to the window. L chose to be silent.

"This will be a notice from the Japanese Ministry of Magic, I move faster than their paperwork apparently."

L's brain was almost completely fried by this point, and he was craving sugar to an insane degree, but there was enough astonishment left over for the dove that was now perched on Ryuuki's shoulder, after having dropped an envelope into Ryuuki's hands. Ryuuki tutted, sighed in what looked to be exasperation, and held up his wand.

"You're going to want to see this, L. This is happiness and joy, poured into a spell. It can be used to drive away the vilest of evils, and it manifests itself as a sort of protective figure. Funnily enough they also make brilliant messengers, and since each person has a different patronus, you can be sure of where the message has come from. Stay still, and I'll cast the charm that will allow you to see things as I do." L barely had time to flinch; he felt a slight tingling before Ryuuki announced, "Right, you're all set!" L watched warily as Ryuuki closed his eyes, a small smile appearing before he whispered,

"_Expecto_ _Patronum_."

L found himself unable to breathe; what appeared to be half of the room was suddenly occupied by a magnificent glowing stag, which was currently scraping its transparent hoof along the plush carpet.

"That's..."

"Meet Prongs. He's my Dad's animagus form. He could transform himself into a stag at will. Right, Prongs! I need you to take a message to... Fujuwitsu Akane in the Japanese Ministry, when she's alone. This is Kinjo Ryuuki, responding to your notice regarding the Statute of Secrecy breach. I have very recently gained permission from the British Ministry regarding this matter, and I expect that my business here will remain strictly confidential. Both Ministers of both countries are aware, and I would appreciate it if any further correspondence were to be addressed to my alias, Kinjo Ryuuki, which has also been cleared and is known by all four Ministers. _Not_ my real name, which shouldn't have even reached parchment in this country. In fact, with the abundance of clearance I have, I fail to see where there is a problem. I trust that this will all be sorted out quickly, and that any further misunderstandings can be prevented. Have a nice day."

With a nod and a nudge, Prongs turned and frightened L out of his wits by galloping past him and straight through the wall behind him. Ryuuki pulled out a piece of parchment from somewhere and waved his wand over it a few times before handing it to L, who took it gingerly between forefinger and thumb. He was rather disturbed when he saw the parchment flash a light blue for a moment, but Ryuuki was quick to reassure him.

"Don't worry, that parchment is now keyed to you, and won't rip, tear, or fade. In fact the only people who can see it are you and any magical people you may come across. Usually when muggles stumble into our world, their memories are erased and they're dropped off close to their home somewhere, with a half-arsed semi-plausible excuse for their missing chunk of time and a vague feeling of having forgotten something important. We had a right royal mess a couple of years ago with some idiot who thought it would be funny to dress up as a muggle, walk into a highly populated muggle area, before screaming his head off and casting a spell to make it look like he was on fire. As if that wasn't bad enough, he then disapparated; leaving dozens of clueless muggles staring at an empty space where seconds before there had been a screaming man on fire. It took days working round the clock to clean that one up... hundreds of fake hospital appointments had to be sent out, hundreds of memories modified... the prat managed it six times across the country before we caught up to him, and got six months in Azkaban Prison for each hop. The paperwork was horrendous, and we could only use spontaneous combustion the once, you see, otherwise the muggles would think it was a new superbug or something inconvenient like that. The Prime Minister tends to get rather annoyed when things like that happen, but don't worry; that piece of paper will let you keep your memories, and I'll be notified if you're in trouble."

L stared. _So this is what being speechless feels like..._

"Right... Here's the welcome speech, and I'm terrible at speeches. I am a Wizard. I was born that way, just like every other Witch or Wizard, and I grew up with my Aunt and Uncle, knowing nothing about magic or the magical world. Strange stuff happened around me all the time, like turning my teachers hair blue, or finding myself on the school roof when looking for a place to hide. Just weird stuff that can't be explained I suppose." He took a deep breath.

"When I was eleven years old, I got a letter and a visitor, inviting me to 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'. Now here I was rather sceptical, as you can understand. That was until my visitor grabbed the rifle out of my Uncle's hands, tied a knot in it, then lit a fire in the fireplace; with a pink umbrella no less! Turns out they snapped his wand, and that's where he stashed the pieces... but nevermind. He took me to a place in London called Diagon Alley, which is basically a rather medieval looking street full of quaint little wizard shops, but it's all magical. The entrance is hidden behind a pub that only Witches and Wizards can see. Are you following me so far?" Ryuuki asked carefully. L just nodded blankly.

"Well, then we ended up visiting the bank, which is run by goblins. Oh and stuff like dragons, mermaids, centaurs, giant spiders, phoenixes, vampires, goblins, hags, and giants all exist. Oh and sphinxes! They're real too; you actually have to answer a riddle before they let you pass. Oh, and the Egyptian Tombs really were cursed, and muggles can't even see most of them. Well, _you_ can now, for about a month, then I'd have to do the spell again. Anyway, went to the bank, found out that my parents left me a vault of gold, and spent the day buying my school things, including wizarding robes, a pointy hat, a cauldron, weird books -" Ryuuki waved his wand and soon a line of books were stacking themselves in front of L, "Even a cauldron and potions ingredients! Now at that point I was willing to believe anything. Now, Hogwarts itself..." Ryuuki trailed off, memories of a roaring fire and the chatter of his Gryffindor housemates filling his mind and putting a wistful half smile on his face.

L, who was quickly regaining normal brain function – roughly 47% so far, by his standards; he hadn't had any cake in a while either –, was completely enthralled by everything that fell out of Ryuuki's mouth. It was so fantastical, like something from a children's story. It didn't take him long to realise that he had absolutely no choice but to believe, as he'd seen the proof with his own eyes, and was even sitting on it, beside it, in front of it, in fact... the entire _room_ was his proof.

"Ah... L... there's something you should probably know before I carry on; before I forget... well... it's really only an accident that I look like you. More of a bizarre coincidence really, same with the alias. I look a bit different really under the magic; it's just that when I happened to tweak my own features, I ended up with yours. So yeah... Sorry about that," said Ryuuki apologetically with a slight shrug, twisting a corner of his mouth up ruefully. "I honestly didn't know what you looked like beforehand."

"It's alright, I suppose," said L quietly. Truthfully he recognised that he was disappointed. He didn't quite know why he was, but he labelled it as 'Unclaimed Baggage – Potential Bomb Threat' and dumped it in the same mental black hole as the rest. He seemed to be doing that an awful lot today. He'd noticed that Ryuuki was looking, if possible, even _more_ exhausted than he had when he'd woken up from his nightmare, which now seemed like such a long time ago. It was strange to think that the face in front of him wasn't even real; the probability of someone accidentally magically assuming his features... well two hours ago he would have said that it was impossible. He wouldn't even have calculated the odds on a whim. Focussing once more on Ryuuki, L saw him stifle yet another yawn behind his hand before sighing deeply.

"You know what... I've told you enough; I've dealt with two Ministers, apparated from London to Scotland, then Scotland to Japan, walked a fair bit in bad shoes... there's a stack of books there if you want to read up on stuff, and you can ask me questions in the morning. Oh and..." Ryuuki flicked his wand, and the warm pie dish was soon in front of L. "Another reason why you should trust me, is because theoretically, I could have done _this_ at any time."

With another flick, the handcuff fell on the floor.

"Now, I told you I had a huge secret, I went round the world to be able to tell you it, and now I'm going to the bathroom. I'm going to take a nice long shower, and then I'm going to pass out on the bed. _You_ however," Ryuuki continued with a smugly victorious grin, "shall be enjoying a slice of homemade humble pie, courtesy of Molly Weasley, the Minister for Magic's wife," he said, lifting the lid, causing steam to rise and the scent of apples and cinnamon to tease L's nose. "Tut tut! kidnapping a Wizard... By the way, the Minister has invited you and Watari over for dinner at some point. By now you should be feeling at least a tiny bit bad for locking me in a cell and handcuffing me."

"Actually, I feel a lot better knowing that you could have escaped at any time if you truly needed to, and I shall endeavour not to be taken in by those tactics in the future."

Ryuuki swiftly turned and took two angry strides towards the bathroom before he turned back slightly.

"Use that brain of yours!" he snapped. "In fact look up 'Azkaban Prison' and 'Dementors', and all the laws of my world, and take into account that I'm the Dementors favourite snack, and that they would love nothing more than to consume my soul, thereby preventing me from joining my family in death when it's my time. It was the only way I could think of to make you trust me enough without totally exposing you as L to the Japanese Ministry by using magic near you, and it's not like I had a lot of time to think! And yes, that was me _knowing_ that I had a way out!" Ryuuki sagged slightly before running his hands through his hair.

"Next time I apparate to London, remind me to either get healthy first, or keep my mouth shut afterwards until I've slept." With that, Ryuuki carried on into the bathroom and slammed the door.

L sat bemusedly running over the conversation in his mind, but didn't see anything that should have been a problem. He sat staring into space for a few minutes before he focussed properly on the stack of books.

Sitting in his crouch on the bed, he pulled the stack of books closer, idly reading the strange titles. Dementors sounded a lot like an evil 'beast' to him, so he opened 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them', written by someone named Newton Scamander. He lazily reached beside him, still staring at the pages in the book, and pulled his laptop, bringing it closer before opening it and absently typing in his passwords, not once averting his eyes from a moving picture of a rather fierce looking dragon. A Hungarian Horntail, apparently. _Dragons_. He turned to a random page. Wait, _Unicorns_?

L dug in his pockets, finding a spoon, before happily digging into the hot apple pie, and reading about creatures that were so unreal that if he wasn't still sitting in 'Ryuuki's Room', he'd be questioning his sanity. After twenty minutes of savouring the best pie he'd ever tasted, and reading the craziest book he'd ever read, he was reminded of the work waiting for him on his laptop, Kira and otherwise. Not that there was much he could do about Kira at the moment, as the deaths were yielding no new information, and the tapes from the subway incident were still on their way.

He'd successfully found the Dementor page, and he had to admit that there was possibly a rather embarrassingly high pitched scream inside him somewhere, locked up and stored just in case he ever saw one of these creatures. He hoped that there was never cause for it to be heard. And these _things_ guarded the Wizard prison? Dear god!

He'd also decided that he was never going anywhere near Romania again – between the dragon reserve and the rather startling Vampire population, it was a wonder he'd made it out alive the last time.

Even their magical _bugs_ were vicious little beasts. Roger would find it rather difficult to find any fondness for some of _these_ critters. L gently closed the book, liking how it even _felt_ magical, and heard that the shower was still running; so he glanced through the list of cases on his laptop, and found a suitable one in Russia to take on under the alias of Moriz. It was a serial rapist; three victims so far, and all within the last two weeks.

Moriz officially accepted the case and L started a few in-depth searches. People recently paroled or released from prison, males aged between 30 and 35, size twelve feet...

Ten minutes, and many magical beasts later, his searches had narrowed down his list considerably. He had then logically whittled his suspects down to three. Fortunately this serial killer used roughly the same methods for each of the three murders, with the first murder being rather sloppy and the subsequent murders becoming more precise each time. L suspected that the rapist was left-handed from how the knots in the ropes were tied, which would pinpoint one suspect in particular, and that was without researching all their past victims.

Sure enough, the man's last two rape victims before being thrown in prison were twins, whom he'd captured, tied up and blindfolded. He hadn't killed them though, and had left them tied up instead. Apparently this time he'd decided that there weren't going to be any witnesses and that he wouldn't get caught if the witnesses were dead. All five victims had similar features.

By the time Ryuuki emerged from the bathroom, a trail of steam behind him, L was in the process of storing his latest solved case onto a memory card.

"You solved a case while I was in the shower?"

"Yes."

"That's... Bloody brilliant!" Ryuuki stated, respect showing clearly in his eyes. "Catch anyone particularly nasty?" he asked, yawning heavily, and then transfiguring his towels into comfortable sleepwear before lying down.

"A serial rapist in Russia; he kidnapped and raped the first two, got caught and incarcerated, then three weeks after being released he kidnapped, raped and then murdered three more," said L in a monotone voice.

"Yes... that's rather nasty isn't it; I'm glad you caught him then, hopefully this time they'll keep him in for longer. I wonder what makes people do all these horrible things to each other. Even without wands they still find ways. Why can't everyone just be pleasant? Why pass on their pain?" mumbled Ryuuki sleepily.

L wondered absently whether or not saying silly things just before he fell asleep was a regular occurrence, or if it was just because he was not alone. Nonetheless, a rather interesting question grabbed his attention. How could someone with so many scars have such an idealistic worldview? Surely that would have been lost along the way? It was a fact; life wasn't fair, and if anyone would know that, then he'd guess that the man beside him would.

It wasn't long before Ryuuki relaxed, and his soft, even breaths could be heard faintly as he slept. L couldn't see his face this time as Ryuuki was turned away from him, but he seemed more relaxed this time around, probably because there was no chain and he was sleeping in his own bed. L felt rather uncomfortable about the subject, but he had to admit that Ryuuki's bed was by far the most comfortable bed he'd ever crouched on, even if balancing was slightly more of a challenge.

He read the magic books until about five to six, and then grabbed his laptop before he made his way out of the magically modified room, just in case Watari walked in, and he found himself having to explain all the changes. He suddenly realised exactly how an entire society could hide in front of everyone's noses – it was so ridiculously far-fetched, that absolutely _nobody_ would believe him without proof, L or not. It was more likely he'd end up going through a battery of hospital tests to determine exactly how insane he was. It was superb really. Even if something was caught on camera, the majority of the world would be sceptical because of the advances in special effects. The more advanced the 'muggles' were, the easier it would be for the Wizards to hide. Rather convenient for them really.

When Watari arrived with cake, he was surprised to see L by himself without the handcuffs on, and wasted no time before asking why.

"They are no longer effective Watari," said L dully.

"They are broken?" inquired Watari curiously.

"No Watari, but it does take him about two seconds to free himself, so I didn't see the point in putting them back on. I'm afraid you'll have to wait until he is awake for answers. It's... huge, Watari. Bigger than anything we've ever encountered. However, I think that with Ryuuki here, we will be safe." L spoke carefully, as he always found it difficult to lie effectively where Watari was concerned; they'd simply known each other for too long. He preferred to tell as much of the truth as possible, but he knew that without Ryuuki there as proof, by the time he'd actually woken up, L would be in a padded room, probably trying to spot Watari through the one way glass so that he could glare properly at him.

"Ah... I shall trust your judgement L; it has served us well over the years." Watari was clearly confused, but L was grateful that he didn't press the issue.

"I will call for you when Ryuuki wakes. If there are any developments in the Kira case, send a message to my laptop."

Watari nodded in understanding before bowing and leaving the room, the door locking behind him. L grabbed the handle of the food trolley and pushed it into the bedroom, the wheels almost silent against the plush carpet. Ryuuki hadn't stirred. For the next four hours, L alternated between demolishing the cake piece by piece, figuring out leads on a few cases, and setting a few wheels in motion. Eventually his sighs grew deeper, and his frequent glances towards Ryuuki became more and more frustrated. Ryuuki literally hadn't moved the entire time he'd been asleep. It was a stark contrast to the events of the night before, and slightly unnerving.

L eventually reached out a finger and gave Ryuuki a slight poke. To L's surprise, Ryuuki shot up and was soon swaying slightly on his knees.

"What the hell? L? Why did you poke me?" Ryuuki mumbled sleepily.

"It was merely a test Ryuuki-kun."

"What - testing me? You woke me up to test me? Sod off, I'm going back to sleep," retorted Ryuuki sleepily.

"You wake up rather easily Ryuuki-kun."

"Funny that eh? You poke a sleeping person, and they wake up! You don't need a test to figure that one out!" said Ryuuki scowling.

"Yes but you were sleeping rather deeply, and a typical person would not wake up to such a small poke," L stated.

"I'm going back to sleep now, and you are going to stop thinking about me until morning!"

"Why would I do that? I can't just stop thinking, it's impossible. I've tried," said L blandly. Ryuuki found himself getting rather irate, considering that L had apparently woke him up for his own amusement.

"Well don't think about me! Now shut up and let me sleep!"

"That was rather rude, and I find it difficult to stop thinking about you when you are right next to me."

"That's your own fault! There's a whole other room out there! Now for the love of Merlin, shut up and let me sleep! Your tests or whatever can wait until morning." Ryuuki sounded rather irate by this point and L was starting to regret waking him until his mind fixated on one word.

"Merlin?"

"Yeah Merlin, you know, the really old guy with the big white beard, waved his hands around a lot and apparently made cool stuff happen? That Merlin. Right now I'm thinking it will take something magical to get you to shut up and let me sleep!"

"It was a test that required you to be sleeping though Ryuuki-kun."

"Argh! Do you have an 'off' button? WATARI! DOES THIS GUY HAVE AN 'OFF' BUTTON?"

"Watari is still asleep Ryuuki-kun. How long do you plan to sleep for?"

"..."

"You're telling me that there really was a Merlin, who could do real magic?"

"SHUT UP! Do you have any idea how far I apparated? Then I did all that fancy stuff! Now, I'm tired, my magical core needs to rest, and I get cranky when that happens! So, shut up! I know you're curious, but I just can't right now! Remember I can silence you! And I'll be up when I'm good and ready!" Ryuuki threw himself down on the bed, with his back towards L.

A few minutes later Ryuuki gave a deep sigh.

"Yes, Merlin really existed, and he was a real Wizard. Goodnight," he stated flatly, still sounding exhausted. "Just... read some of the books or something..."

"Goodnight Ryuuki-kun. I shall leave you to your rest," said L quietly.

L picked up his laptop, and with a glance at Harry's back, switched it on before accepting a case in Belgium under the name of 'Deneuve'. His magical book of choice – 'Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts – Voldemort Edition'.

_Flight of death_, he mused. _Sounds interesting_.

Little did he know exactly how _interesting_ this particular book would turn out to be.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

When Ryuuki opened his eyes, he groggily realised that L was no longer next to him on the bed. The bathroom door was open, showing that it was unoccupied, so Ryuuki guessed that L must be in the front room. Smirking to himself, and now fully awake, he flicked his wrist and brought out his wand. He stood up and less than a minute later, the room was back to normal, and his furniture was safely stored in his trunk. Casting a wary look towards the door, he sat down on the newly restored bed before lifting his locket away from his chest and laying it flat on his palm. Bringing it closer to his face, he let the barest whisper escape his lips.

_*I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good,*_ he hissed in the serpent language that he alone could speak since the defeat of Voldemort. For this reason alone - to guard the Hallows - he was grateful to still have this ability even after the horcrux inside him was destroyed.

The locket sprang open with a slight click, to reveal nothing but a pool of darkness inside.

_*Lemon drops.*_

Slowly the locket began to change. The back of the locket grew larger, and much more bowl shaped, and the front grew as if it were a lid to fit. Soon there was a golden jar sitting on the bed, the chain having grown a single rope (it was now an elongated Y shape with the jar on the end of the chain), so as not to cause the wearer discomfort. Glancing quickly at the door and hearing no sound, he reached into the jar almost to his shoulder, and brought out a mirror. Cancelling his translation charm, he looked at the surface of the mirror and noticed a small 'Hermione Granger' in the top corner. Smiling, he rubbed his finger over the thin blue writing, making it disappear. He cast a silencing charm before speaking.

"Hermione Granger."

Soon Hermione's face swam into view.

"Oh Ha- er, Ryuuki! I was getting so worried when you didn't answer when I called, and then Arthur said you'd stopped by his office! What's going on?" she asked, looking concerned.

"Don't worry Hermione, I'm alright. Remember that detective from the television broadcast, L?" Hermione nodded excitedly, her brown curls bouncing.

"Yes Ryuuki, I looked into it and apparently he's solved thousands of cases for the muggles! You'll have to watch your step," she warned.

"Ah yes, well, it's a bit late for that really. I ended up being kidnapped by him yesterday, and he figured out pretty quickly that technically I don't exist. Worse than that, he figured out that I was either Kira, or that I was from an 'outside organisation' as I think he put it. Either way I managed to convince him to let me get permission to fill him in, because I figured that-"

"-with both of you hunting Kira together, you're sure to catch him quickly!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes Hermione, I was just getting to that," he sighed, rolling his eyes at his friend.

"And that's why you went to see Arthur, so that he could write a pass for him. How did he take it?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, that's why I went to see Arthur. I went to see the muggle Prime Minister too to get his permission for the whole training thing. As for how he took it..." he grinned at Hermione who was starting to look reproachfully at him for what she suspected he might have done.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that, Hermione! I only remodelled his room a bit!" he said between sniggers.

"Without warning him beforehand I bet!"

"Actually he did get some warning!" he returned defiantly, before sniggering again. "Well, I resized my trunk in front of him, I'm sure he had a rough idea from that..."

"HARR-"

"SHHHH!" he hissed, glaring slightly.

"Sorry..." replied Hermione meekly, before her eyes narrowed slightly. "It's not as effective saying your alias like that!" she defended. "But still, I won't do it again."

"Yeah I know; it should be alright anyway since L knows my name already. I needed the guy to trust me somehow. The guy's obsessed with cameras and used voice changing software, it was rather creepy actually. He's left me alone now so I suppose it must have worked to some degree. I'd better go before someone walks in."

"Alright, bye Ryuuki, and call one of us whenever you get the chance, alright?" she said, waving at him. He waved back with a grin.

"I'll do my best to remember."

He brought his hand to the surface of the mirror and ran his fingers across it, causing Hermione's image to ripple and fade until the features that stared back at him were those of Kinjo Ryuuki. He quickly placed the mirror back into the locket-jar, and with a hissed, _*mischief managed,* _his locket-jar returned to its usual size; the chain retracting to its usual appearance and length, and the inky darkness obscuring what lay inside. Ryuuki snapped the locket closed, reactivating the first safeguard.

Letting the locket fall to his chest with a _thump_, he looked around the room, before stretching and letting out a rather satisfying yawn. He then made his way to the bathroom.

-xXxXxXxXxXxXx-

In the front room, L stared unseeing in front of his laptop, which had long since started displaying the screensaver he'd made one day when he was bored. He was supposed to have finished another case by now, maybe even two, but instead he had spent the last few hours obsessed with reading and understanding a certain book.

He had absolutely no idea what to make of it. If the book were to be believed, then the man in the other room had fought an actual Dark Lord and won at the age of seventeen! Not only that, but apparently there was a deadly curse that had claimed the lives of all it touched, and Harry Potter had survived it not once, but twice! First of all he found it disturbing on so many levels that it seemed so easy for these wizards to kill each other, and second of all that the man next door apparently banished the Dark Lord (he noticed that he was only referred to by name on the cover of the book) when he was only fifteen months old! He was the 'Boy-Who-Lived'.

It had taken many hours to work his way through the book that only seemed to tell a rough outline of the story, and it had taken just as long to read the words as it had for him to stare avidly at each picture he came across. He saw a _moving_ picture of two people that could only be Harry's parents; Harry himself was bundled tightly in his mother's arms, sleeping, love for him plain to see on both of their smiling faces. He saw a picture of a rather quaint house with an entire upstairs wall blown outward somehow, presumably from the rebounded death curse. The decoration that could be seen was evidence of it being a nursery. After that he had stared for a long time at a picture of Harry from his first year at school, dressed in a strange uniform and holding a _broomstick_, people actually _flying_ in the background as they tossed a ball back and forth. A Seeker, the book said, in a sport they called Quidditch. Youngest in a century, apparently.

He fought a possessed teacher in his first year, killed a 'basilisk' his second year (which he then found out was a snake that could kill with its eyes, and was terribly poisonous. Amusingly enough, when the book stated that one hadn't been sighted for 400 years, Harry had written, '_That's what you think.' _In the margin), was hunted by the criminal Sirius Black his third year, was entered into the Triwizard Tournament his fourth year, battled Death Eaters with a group of his friends in his fifth year, his Headmaster was murdered by his potions teacher (L was hoping that potions really were like chemistry) in his sixth year, and he spent the next year living in the wilderness, hiding from Death Eaters and Ministry officials, before appearing at Hogwarts in time to take part in the battle that finished off the Dark Lord once and for all.

The book never mentioned kidnappings, and only said that 'Lord Potter' as he was known after claiming his inheritance in the aftermath of the war, was currently single, and was in charge of the Auror Department, which he'd drastically overhauled, much to the benefit of the department apparently. It also mentioned that he'd broken the record by completing the training in a year, was the youngest ever Department Head, and that he had a godson who was in the care of the child's grandmother.

Apparently, Lord Harry James Potter was The Chosen One. The Saviour of the Wizarding World; and consequently the muggle world too, even if they knew nothing of it. The Man-Who-Vanquished. There was even a prophecy that foretold his birth. It was all rather humbling, really, and L had decided to leave the room before Harry woke up so that he could perhaps sort out his thoughts on the matter, taking his laptop and the books with him.

Now he'd been sitting there nibbling his thumb for half an hour, and he still had no idea what he was supposed to _say_ to Harry. Somehow he knew that whatever he said would be the wrong thing. 'So, you killed a Dark Lord?' might just have to suffice. He didn't have any more time to consider his options unfortunately, as at that moment the door to the bedroom opened; but luckily the solution became obvious, and he waited for Harry to say something first.

"Thought I'd find you out here. What are we going to do tonight, Brain?"

"Excuse me?" L said flatly, staring blankly at Ryuuki.

"Nope! Now, what you should have said was 'The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world!' See? Never watched 'Pinky and the Brain'? I can't believe I have to teach muggle culture to a muggle. Did they just lock you away and feed you books?" asked Ryuuki disbelievingly, regarding L curiously.

"No, I locked myself away and requested books. There is a difference. I do not like television. It's only use to me is to watch the news." L said, his irritation rising.

Harry stared back at him incredulously.

"You know what... that's... strange. To me it is, at least. I can't even imagine _wanting_ to be locked away. Didn't you get lonely?"

"No, I find it peaceful and relaxing." He stated. Ryuuki looked at him shrewdly, and L fought within himself, desperately wanting to look away, but his pride not letting him.

"Liar."

L glared, and his irritation quickly turned into anger.

"It's none of your business either way, it's my choice," he all but snapped, wishing he'd stuck with the, 'So, you killed a Dark Lord?' line before Ryuuki had a chance to open his mouth.

"No it's not my business I suppose, but I suggest that you do not try to lie to me in the future. I've been trained specifically to sniff out liars. You lied to me, and I called you on it."

L continued to glare, saying nothing, knowing that there _was_ nothing he could say at that moment that wouldn't be picked apart. Remembering the book, he felt a flare of satisfaction. Smoothing out his features, he reached for the book and held it up in front of him with his eyebrows raised. He felt strange as he watched Ryuuki's face fall, partly smug, partly sad, as he realised that perhaps that wasn't very tactful. It was his life story in that book after all, and it hadn't been a happy one.

"Ah... I had hoped... that perhaps I could explain a bit more before you picked up that particular book... it's not completely accurate, and I suppose that you could figure out that it's not the full story. I would even say that the worst parts are the parts not told in the book." Ryuuki looked down, before shuffling sadly to a seat. "I just felt that you should understand that we've come from a war not so long ago, and we don't want another one. If a Dark Witch or a Dark Wizard got a hold of this weapon... we are just a small society... we would all be hostages as everyone's name is known, or easily found, whatever country it happened to be in. If they got a hold of it, they would technically be the second most powerful wizard in the world."

"Who is the most powerful?"

Ryuuki gave a sad smile.

"I am."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Politically my name is gold. I don't use my influence often, but when I do use it, I have just as much influence as Albus Dumbledore had when he was alive, if not more. I am known throughout the world, and in fact Japan is very happy at the moment because of my visit. If I were to go out with my real face, I'd probably be spotted fairly quickly I reckon. Either way, that is a form of power. Magically, they think I'm the next Merlin. To be honest, they're probably not far off. After all, I was Voldemort's equal." Ryuuki gave him a rueful smile, filled with sadness.

"It turns out that the parasite was fighting me from the inside too and had restricted a load of my magic. Since it was destroyed everything has become ridiculously easy, especially with how hard I had to try before. I try to hide that though, and I try not to get into the habit of not using my wand, otherwise it would just be yet another oddity. There are not many people that can apparate across continents without splinching, let alone half way around the world. Apparating from Scotland to New Zealand and then back again when I'm at full health is completely within my abilities, if not a little tiring. However, I haven't been at full health for a while now I must admit, which tends to decrease my abilities considerably, but unless I apparate a great distance I don't usually notice. I wonder... one day I might try apparating to the moon! With the right charms, I might be able to do it..." he mused, looking as if he might actually be forming some sort of plan.

L was openly staring at him. "No way..." he muttered disbelievingly.

"Well, perhaps not the moon I suppose. That _is_ a little far-fetched, but interesting to think about. After all, I haven't heard of a wizard who has ever set foot on the moon, and yet a muggle has, so perhaps a magical rocket would be a better idea..."

"Ryuuki... are you telling me that what I read in this book is true?"

"Yes. The edited, public version of it anyway."

"..." L just stared in open-mouthed shock, with perhaps a touch of awe. There went the theory of the book exaggerating things. Apparently it was the opposite.

"Don't look at me like that! I'm still just a person!"

"Yes, but all these things you have done..." It was one thing to sit behind a computer most of the time, telling people the answers to their problems, especially when L found most cases to be rather simple... but to have survived all of _that_ as a child, in a new world, was rather amazing. It was safe to say that he'd have taken that interesting stone from Harry's first year, purely for self study of course, and that was just the beginning.

"Mean nothing. Someone had to do it, and if it wasn't me it would have been someone else." Ryuuki stated firmly.

"Would they have succeeded as you did?"

Ryuuki stopped halfway through forming a word, and thought of Neville Longbottom, and the boy he had been. Perhaps he would have gotten past Quirrel, as he wouldn't have wanted to use the stone for personal gain... but the Basilisk? The sixteen year old Tom Riddle's taunts? It was difficult to say. It had taken Neville many years to overcome his self-doubt, and most of those times had involved Harry somehow, but Neville had shown what he was made of in the end and had come through...

"It is hard to say. There was another boy that fit the prophecy before I was marked as the one. Neville. He was shy but he came through in the end."

"The one who killed Nagini the snake?"

"Yes, him. Has a way with plants, and last I heard he was apprenticing under Professor Sprout at Hogwarts."

"Can you really speak to snakes?"

Ryuuki sighed, before grinning slightly.

"Shall we find out?"

Before L could say a word, Ryuuki had his wand out, and said a word in what sounded like a form of Latin.

"_Serpensortia_!"

To L's amazement and horror, a large snake grew from the end of Ryuuki's wand until there was what looked like a rather annoyed boa constrictor hissing at them. Glancing at Ryuuki didn't allay his fears in the slightest, as he was looking rather shocked.

_*Hey amigo! Long time no see; and you're bigger! You look a lot different actually, but you still smell the same!*_

_*It really is you... Did they put you back in the zoo?* _asked Ryuuki worriedly, wondering if he'd just caused mayhem again in London Zoo.

_*Put me back? No way amigo! I was out of there! Found myself a nice park for a while before making my way to the sewers. You wouldn't believe the rats! Huge, and so tasty!*_

_*I apologise, I remembered you before casting the spell, but I didn't think it would actually summon you!*_

_*Hey, no problem amigo! I owe you one!*_

_*Hold on a minute, yeah? I just have to make sure that my friend is alright.* _

L sat gobsmacked as Ryuuki _talked_ to the snake, and it really _talked_ _back_! This was unbelievable!

"L?"

"I... I don't believe it!"

"Well, it's true, I'm talking to the snake, and he's talking back. In fact, let me introduce to you the snake I accidentally set free from London Zoo when I was ten years old."

"Hello, snake... Ryuuki, is there a way for me to understand too? That's just amazing... they said Merlin could talk to animals!"

"It's only snakes, I'm not Merlin! I don't know of a way that you could understand them, but I can tell you that this one calls me 'amigo', and he lived in a park for a while before moving to the sewers where there are lots of huge, tasty rats. Wait a minute... you think it's _amazing_?" Ryuuki asked bemusedly.

"Of course it's amazing! You're _talking_ to a _snake_! Can all wizards speak to an animal?"

"No, just me... and I can honestly say that you are the first person to think that what I just did was amazing. Honestly, I thought it would scare you. It is fun to ruffle your feathers a bit after all. At least then you don't look so stony." Ryuuki said, grinning before his hand shot out and made L's hair even more of a mess. L froze wide eyed.

"Did you just..."

"Yes," Ryuuki stated unrepentantly.

_*Hey amigo!*_

They both turned to look at the snake when they heard the sudden hiss.

_*You got anywhere warm?*_

_*Ah! Hold on, I'll sort you something out. I could take you to Brazil later if you want?*_

_*Brazil? You... you would really take me there amigo?* _The snake froze, and was no longer swaying in front of Ryuuki.

_*Of course I would, it's your natural home isn't it?*_

_*Yes amigo... although could I stay here for a while?*_

_*You want to stay with me?*_

_*Well... it's good seeing you amigo, and you're a decent sort, and it wouldn't be right not to find some way to repay you. So, I stay until I help you somehow, and then I would like to see Brazil.*_

_*We have a deal, my serpent friend. What should I call you?*_

_*My name is Sethaths*_

_*Would Seth be alright then?*_

_*Sounds good to me amigo! You shall just be my amigo, and he shall be your amigo! Now that we've sorted that out, can I have that rat I was just chasing? Then somewhere warm?*_

_*Will I be warm enough for you? Welcome aboard. Sorry about your rat."_

L watched in fascination as Ryuuki spoke with the snake again, and then held his arm out. The snake then docilely slithered up his arm and settled around Ryuuki's shoulders. L hesitantly reached out his hand.

"Is it safe?"

Ryuuki hissed something to the snake who hissed back before Ryuuki smiled at him and nodded. L, - who was expecting the snake to feel slightly rough and cold - was pleasantly surprised when his fingers encountered scales that were smooth and warm to the touch. Gradually he grew bolder, and placed his whole hand on the snake, feeling the power hidden just under the surface. He hadn't had much contact with animals – he'd met a dog once – so he was in awe over the fact that he was stroking a _boa_ _constrictor_ without fear of being bitten or squeezed to death. L was startled from his near-trance by Ryuuki's words.

"I think I know why I'm really here. My friend Hermione tells me that I have what she calls a 'people saving thing'... or was it 'saving people thing'? Anyway, I think that you're next on my list. If there's anything that I've learnt in my life, it's that magic works in strange ways. I don't believe in coincidences. Meeting Watari that night? Just _happening_ to transfigure my face into yours? Even my alias being similar to yours, even though it was chosen by someone else?" L fidgeted uncomfortably, rubbing his toes together as he figured out where this was going.

"It's like a big signpost. I know 'Mione thinks I'm a bit thick when it comes to these things, but... The thing is, from watching you just now, I think I might have to help you live, perhaps in more ways than one." Ryuuki sounded sad, or disappointed, or _something_; and the words and tone of his voice hit L like a punch in the gut. He had no idea why. He wanted _away_ suddenly, and without a word he stood and walked to the bedroom, closing the door behind him. A second later he was back.

"You made it normal again," L stated.

"Yes, I didn't think it would be a good idea to leave it like that in case Watari walked in or something. Speaking of him, I have permission to tell him too, so how should we go about that?" asked Ryuuki, as if L hadn't left.

L slowly shuffled back to his chair, and perched.

"Without a snake around your neck, and definitely not the way you told me," he mumbled around his thumb. Ryuuki noticed that he did that a lot. It was rather amusing actually, as 'Dromeda was in the process of trying to convince a six year old Teddy to keep his fingers out of his mouth.

"So basically sit him down, ease him into it, and give him a book? Perhaps not mention the recent war just yet..."

"That would be the best option."

"If he panics, I know a calming charm. It's meant for babies, but it works on adults too."

"That might be useful."

The two sat in silence for a moment, before Ryuuki stood, careful not to jostle Seth too much.

"I'm going to sort out a corner of the room for Seth since he wants to help somehow before I take him to Brazil; I doubt you want him in your bedroom after all, and I'll put a charm on it all so that Watari won't see any difference when he comes in. It's a muggle repelling charm, but I cast the counter-charm on you, so you should still be able to see him. It also lets you see certain magic that isn't normally visible to muggles... I suppose you would say that some magic is on a wavelength that muggles can't normally see. The Muggle Repelling Charm takes advantage of that fact, and creates a sort of barrier. It's also possible to merge it with another charm, but that would take a while to explain. Where is Watari anyway?" asked Ryuuki, eyeing a bare corner critically and bringing out his wand. He'd noticed that L always seemed a lot more content when being told information. Perhaps it was his form of relaxation, who knows?

"At the moment he is interviewing the two witnesses from the bus incident. He should return shortly, and I have requested that he notify me of his arrival." Ryuuki just hummed in response.

L watched silently. He was amazed yet again as Ryuuki made large mossy stones appear from thin air, along with a large forked branch which he somehow enlarged before he stuck it to the corner. He was hissing to the snake, who was hissing back. L quietly stepped off his chair and slowly moved closer, watching wide-eyed as Ryuuki pointed his wand at the rocks, one by one, whispering under his breath.

When he was finished, there was even a small pool. Ryuuki paused, as if he'd forgotten something, and he waved his wand, tracing it along the edges of the new habitat, before hissing to the snake once again. The snake – Seth, slithered down Ryuuki's arm before exploring, hissing in what L hoped was satisfaction.

"I made a barrier, so that when I conjure the rats for him, they won't escape."

L barely had a second to fully comprehend this statement before a live rat was shrieking as it suddenly found itself mere feet from a large deadly snake. He could only stare in morbid fascination as the rat was captured and subsequently eaten. He glanced at Ryuuki, and was utterly shocked to see a smugly satisfied grin on his face. It didn't fit his profile at all. Ryuuki caught the look and shrugged.

"The man who betrayed my parent's hiding place to Voldemort was named Peter Pettigrew. He was an animagus, who could turn himself into a rat at will. He was supposedly my father's friend. Even worse, he framed my godfather. I'm sure the book told you that my godfather Sirius Black murdered thirteen muggles, plus Pettigrew? Well, Pettigrew cut off one of his fingers, blew up the street, transformed into a rat, and hid in my friend Ron Weasley's house as a pet rat, for twelve years, as my godfather sat in Azkaban, the only thing keeping his sanity being his form of a dog. It's easier to bear the Dementors with a simpler mind, he said. I suppose it's unfair to take it out on the rest of the rat population, but I couldn't help imagining it as _Wormtail_," he spat the name with contempt.

"Understandable. What happened to him?" L asked, though he was still slightly disturbed.

"Dead. We were caught by snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor. He had no other choice than to give his life for me, since he owed me a life debt. I suppose his biggest crime in the eyes of the law, would be willingly resurrecting a Dark Lord."

L didn't quite understand the explanation, but he wasn't about to tell Ryuuki that.

"Why does your locket stay warm?" L asked curiously.

"I suppose I did say I would tell you, and for some reason I know that you can be trusted. You're a liar, but you can be trusted with important matters such as these." Ryuuki said grudgingly, before smiling as he noticed L scowling.

"Don't take it personally, nobody's perfect after all, although I can see that you've tried, in your own way."

He wasn't bothered by that as much as he was bothered by him knowing that much in the first place! L decided that staring blankly would be the best option, before he ended up revealing something else. Ryuuki's gaze suddenly sharpened.

"How do you keep doing that...?"

L was startled. What had he done now?

"Hmmm... I am what is known in our world as a Legillimens. This means that I can usually scan surface thoughts; nothing too deep, much like skimming the surface of a pond. With a focussed attack I can go a lot deeper and find bits of information. You are the only muggle I've met who can clear their mind as fast as any wizard accomplished in the art of Occlumency, which is how Legillimency can be blocked. It's interesting. You're definitely not a wizard or a squib."

"I've always done that." L was surprised, but glad that there was something these wizards could do that he could defend against.

"Well... Nevermind. I'll just get on with it then."

Ryuuki took a deep breath, before starting to tell L of the Deathly Hallows.

"In our world there is a story that I won't go into in a lot of detail, but let's just say that Death created three powerful objects which he gave as rewards to three brothers that had used magic to evade him. One of the brothers asked for a wand more powerful than any other, which became known as the Elder wand. He bragged about it not long after, defeating others with ease, until one night he was stabbed to death and the wand stolen. Death claimed the first brother," he said, holding up a finger.

"The second brother asked for the power to bring the dead back to life, so Death gave him a stone and told him that if he turned it three times, and pictured the person, it would bring them back from the dead. He took the stone and brought back his dead wife or something, but she wasn't happy because she didn't belong in this world anymore. He killed himself at some point to join her, and Death took the second brother." He raised a second finger.

"The third brother asked for something that would stop Death from following, and so Death removed his own cloak of invisibility, and gave it to the third brother, who lived to a ripe old age before giving the cloak to his son, and meeting Death on his own terms. It was said that the man to unite all three would be known as the Master of Death."

L stared in disbelief yet again. "Such things truly exist? You have them..."

"You've got it in one. I'm the so-called Master of Death, and the Deathly Hallows are deathly real. I mostly managed to keep it out of the book, although you might have seen the Elder Wand mentioned since that became public knowledge. They are a curse! They're the reason I was kidnapped and, well, tortured I suppose. I've come to accept that I'm the best man for the job, since I'm the only one who can speak parseltounge, the snake language. Therefore I am the only one who can open this locket, and it really does have the last of my parents, by the way. The cloak was passed down from my father, and locket was made by my mother, so I didn't lie to you. In fact, Ignotus Peverell, the third brother from the story, was my many times great grandfather, which is rather interesting. I'm not sure whether or not this Kira weapon would affect me, so I took precautions. For all I know, the Hallows were made by the brothers themselves and they decided to spread a cool story around, but ordinary invisibility cloaks generally don't last this long, and it's been handed down from generation to generation, so I'm not sure. I've never met Death or anything, even when I died. I ended up on a train platform with Dumbledore, but I didn't have all three Hallows in my possession at that time, so who knows."

"Everything happens to you, doesn't it?" asked L blandly.

Ryuuki couldn't help but laugh, nodding his agreement.

"Well, I am the 'Chosen One' apparently. Although I don't much like what I've been chosen for so far."

L's phone began to ring, and L brought it out of his pocket, answering it in his awkward way. He listened for a moment, staring into space, before narrowing his eyes.

"Understood Watari. All is well."

"Good. We shall be waiting for your arrival." L ended the call before shoving his phone back in his pocket. Ryuuki watched as he then scooped up a handful of jelly beans from a nearby bowl and shoved them all in his mouth, staring off into space as he chewed. Ryuuki stood and pointed his wand at Seth's corner, casting a muggle repelling charm, feeling L's eyes on him as he did so.

"Watari will be arriving in fifteen minutes," said L in a monotone.

"Let's do a quick sweep of everything magical then, it would be helpful if you could check too, since I am rather used to seeing these things and might overlook them." L looked to the ceiling before nodding.

They both moved through the rooms, L passing books to Ryuuki who then shrunk them and placed them into his trunk. Soon the rooms were clear except for Seth's corner, which had a muggle repelling charm on it. Ryuuki shrunk his trunks and dropped them into his pocket. Both had been silent, and Ryuuki was starting to feel rather fidgety. Reclaiming their respective seats, they began the age old ritual of stealing glances when the other wasn't looking, each knowing full well what the other was doing; and yet neither willing to be the first to break the silence.

Other than the sounds of L demolishing the bowl of jelly beans, of course, but that didn't count.

"So... do you think I should be burnt at the stake? Any thoughts crossing your mind of finding the nearest pitchfork, or flaming torch?" asked Ryuuki casually, watching L carefully as he finished swallowing his latest mouthful of sugary mush.

"No," stated L, looking directly into Ryuuki's eyes.

Ryuuki stared back for a moment before nodding, seemingly satisfied, and leaning back in his chair.

Both were silent until there was a knock, and Watari entered the room, smiling at them both briefly and carrying bags of what looked like yet more sweets. L, who was watching carefully, was relieved when Watari didn't look twice at Seth's corner.

"Thank you Watari. Ryuuki has permission to tell you his secret. I suggest you sit down." L wasn't looking at his guardian, but at Ryuuki across from him.

Watari just nodded curiously and calmly sat himself down, following L's lead and looking at Ryuuki.

"Right, well, I suppose I'd better explain." Ryuuki began awkwardly, before he stuck his hand into his pocket and brought out one of his miniaturised trunks, and made a move towards throwing it on the floor.

L's foot shot out and Ryuuki yelped as it made contact with his shin.

"DAMN IT L! What the hell was that for?" Ryuuki snapped, glaring fiercely at L and rubbing his shin, hissing in discomfort.

"Tell him properly!" L stated, glaring back just as fiercely.

"Well that's what I was _trying_ to bloody do before you kicked me!" said Ryuuki indignantly.

Suddenly Ryuuki's foot shot out; catching L on the shin and causing the other man to hiss as he toppled over, just barely steadying himself with his hands.

"No you weren't! We agreed that you wouldn't do the same thing you did with me!"

"Well if you hadn't _noticed_, all the books are in my trunk! How _else_ am I to get them out?"

"At least say something first!"

"Like what?" said Ryuuki challengingly, staring at a furious L, before turning to Watari, who was looking back and forth between the two, completely lost and out of his depth. Ryuuki thought he spotted a slight Dumbledore Twinkle for a moment, but it was gone before he could be sure.

"How about this then? Hi Watari! Guess what-"

"Not like that!"

"Like what then? In fact go ahead! You do it!"

"Ryuuki's a Wizard, and magic is real."

"That's what I was _going_ to say!"

Suddenly L and Ryuuki were distracted from their squabbling by Watari's raucous laughter, which ended up annoying Seth, who hissed, prompting L and Ryuuki to whip round and stare at what appeared to be an empty corner to Watari's eyes.

"I must say L; in all my years with you, that has to be the most _absurd_ thing you've ever said!" exclaimed Watari, still chuckling and wondering what was so fascinating about that corner. "In fact, I've never even seen you open a story book!"

Ryuuki turned back to face L and smirked victoriously.

"I'll just get my trunk out then, shall I?"

L didn't say another word, glaring at nothing in particular and choosing to stay silent, clearly annoyed.

Ryuuki threw his trunk on the floor, drawing his wand from his sleeve as he did so.

"Watari; L is right. I really am a Wizard, magic is completely real, and there's an entire hidden society of us."

Watari stared incredulously, wondering if he was crazy, until the small box on the floor began to grow in size in front of his very eyes.

"Impossible..." he breathed faintly, turning slightly pale.

"Just like magic, huh?" said Ryuuki with a grin, before opening the trunk and bringing some books back out. Watari rubbed his eyes vigorously, but the trunk was still there.

"An entire society, you say...? Unbelievable... I had no idea..."

"Yes, well, that's the whole point of the Statute of Secrecy. Here, I have a note to give you. It basically means that if you come across anything magical, and you're involved with the Ministry somehow, you'll be allowed to keep your memories of the event, and I'll be notified straight away so I can help smooth everything over." Ryuuki reached into his pocket and brought out a scroll, waving his wand over it a few times. Watari took it carefully, noting that it was old fashioned parchment, and jumped slightly as it flashed blue.

"I keyed it to you, now only you and magical people can see it. It won't fade, tear, or otherwise be damaged and I suggest you keep it with you at all times. You never know when something magical might happen in front of you."

Watari nodded, still in a daze. L suddenly spoke up.

"Watari this might sound strange, but what do you think of snakes?" said L, slightly concerned about the hissing and the fact that Ryuuki wasn't calming it down.

"What he really means to say is, 'What would you do if you suddenly found yourself a few feet away from a seven foot boa constrictor?'"

L kicked Ryuuki in the shin again.

"Oww! Dammit L! I know a spell that will turn you into a ferret! Or perhaps you could be an ass with a kick like that!" L blanched, and Ryuuki punched him in the shoulder when he was distracted. L hissed, feeling his arm go numb, looking as if he wanted to jump Ryuuki and start punching him there and then. Watari watched in disbelief, strangely reminded of his numerous fights with his brother when he was younger, and amazed that L was actually taking part in something, even if it was an argument. When L was younger, he'd generally just walk away from a confrontation, bored with the other person practically before they would open their mouth, and if he did end up in a fight, he didn't pull punches and within seconds the other child would be out cold. There was something about Ryuuki though, that seemed to force L to acknowledge him. Watari thought it would be very interesting to see what happens from now, especially if he decided to interfere somehow. In fact, it would be very interesting indeed.

"No you can't! I bet there are laws against that sort of thing! You can't just go around turning people into animals!" snapped L, rubbing his upper arm.

"Actually yes I can! One more giant ass in the world wouldn't even be noticed! Or would you rather spend the next week with pink hair instead? I'll even be nice and make it candy floss pink!" retorted Ryuuki, rubbing his shin.

"I will kick you-"

"ENOUGH!" Startled from their argument, L and Ryuuki both looked at Watari somewhat guiltily, L shaking himself slightly from the strange mood he seemed to be in.

"You!" Watari said, pointing at L, who stared back with comically wide eyes, "Stop kicking Ryuuki!" Ryuuki sat back smugly and crossed his arms, as L scowled.

"And you!" This time it was L's turn to be smug, as Ryuuki stared incredulously at Watari's pointing finger. "It's not fair to threaten someone with magic when they can't defend against it – you know it's true L, you can't, so don't look at me like that! Now what's this about a snake?" he finished, looking between them.

Ryuuki and L glanced at each other; Ryuuki mumbling a quick 'sorry' in L's direction, and Watari couldn't help but burst out laughing again at the strangeness of it all.

"Er, Watari, you can't see it right now, but there's a seven foot snake in the corner over there," said Ryuuki, pointing at Seth, who had quietened at Watari's raised voice, and he shrugged sheepishly, as L sat looking slightly concerned.

Watari - remembering how both young men had been looking at the empty corner - suddenly wasn't laughing, and he paled.

"You're serious..."

"Yes, so do you want to see him, or would you rather not? If it makes you feel any better, he's a boa constrictor named Seth, and I can talk to him. He calls me 'amigo' and was brought up in London Zoo, and wants to see Brazil after repaying me for setting him free when I was ten. I accidentally summoned him here about half an hour ago, and he wanted to stay and help me, so..." Ryuuki trailed off.

"It's true," L spoke up. "I can see him because Ryuuki put a spell on me that allows me to. It's only a tingle."

"You _accidentally_ summoned a snake?" Watari exclaimed.

"No, I accidentally summoned _that_ snake." Ryuuki said with a slight grin. Watari just shook his head slowly, thinking it better not to ask.

"Go ahead, I'm sure this will be interesting," he said helplessly, cheered slightly by seeing that L was still unharmed even though it was obvious that he could see the snake.

Watari tensed as Ryuuki pointed his stick at him and muttered something unintelligible under his breath. He closed his eyes as he felt a strange tingling sensation, and when he opened them he was genuinely shocked to see the huge snake in the corner of the room, complete with a tree, rock pool and some jungle vines. Even after seeing the little trunk grow bigger, he hadn't expected anything like this.

"Dear Lord..." he breathed, staring at the snake.

"Watari, this is Seth," Ryuuki said uncertainly.

"Hello Seth," he replied absently, still wrapping his mind around the last fifteen minutes of his life. He was further shocked when Ryuuki opened his mouth and started _hissing_ at the snake. It didn't help matters when he turned to L, only to see him sitting there _grinning_ at him, teeth and all. The world had gone mad.

"He said 'Hello your amigo's amigo! Are you going to live here too? You can't have this corner, it's taken.'" Ryuuki said, turning back to Watari.

"Amazing..."

Ryuuki just stared funnily at him before commenting.

"You know, that's what L said. Most people in the magical world think that being able to talk to snakes is evil, although they make an exception for me as long as it's never mentioned, since I did the world a massive favour a few years back. It's a bit strange to me actually, that neither of you are running for the hills," said Ryuuki quietly, fidgeting slightly.

"Well it's all rather strange, but you are not here to harm us or you would have done so already, and you have given me little reason to mistrust you so far," said Watari, regaining his composure. Ryuuki smiled slightly.

"If this weapon is something magical, you're going to need my help, especially if Kira finds a way to figure out people's names."

Suddenly L sprung out of his chair with a shout, shocking the other three occupants of the room.

"Watari! It is entirely possible that Penber was used to find out the names of the other agents before he died. I need to know which families were assigned to him. We also need to contact his fiancé; if Penber saw anything suspicious then it is likely that he would inform her. We need those subway tapes urgently, and we need to know everything he did since starting the surveillance."

"I shall start on that right away, L; meanwhile I brought what you requested," said Watari before bowing, and exiting the room, glancing back at Seth on his way out of the door.

L grabbed one of the bags before hopping back onto his chair and settling into his usual crouch, pawing through the bag in his hand, strongly reminding Ryuuki of a monkey. Ryuuki reared back slightly as L's arm shot out in his direction, but chided himself on his paranoia when he saw that L was holding a white box out to him, and staring at him curiously, almost frowning. Ryuuki turned red and mumbled a quick 'thanks' as he took the box, refusing to meet L's eyes.

"I find it hard to believe that the bowl of jelly beans you sacrificed helped you come to that conclusion," said Ryuuki, opening the box and grinning as he saw a treacle tart. He wondered if it would be as good as the ones in Hogwarts.

"I find it hard to believe that you can wave a stick around and make impossible things happen," retorted L, waving around a stick of pocky that he'd unearthed from the bag.

"Hey don't insult the wand; this isn't just any old stick! It is fifteen whole inches of Elder wood and Thestral tail hair," said Ryuuki, suddenly remembering a previous incident. "By the way, that's what messed up your scanners. I have a holster on that arm. Although my arm _has_ been regrown, _and_ it's had both basilisk venom and phoenix tears in there, so I wasn't _totally_ lying about not knowing what's mine anymore," Ryuuki said, grinning lightly.

"That explains it then." L brought out a dark red ball of something that reminded him of when Molly Weasley had experimented with steak and kidney in her pies, and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. "So you killed this Voldemort, and now people are after you to take the Hallows?" he asked, cheeks bulging.

"That's pretty much the story, yeah. The wand is the only one I actually use regularly, because as far as the public are concerned, my first wand got snapped in a fight, and that's the way I want it to stay. Dumbledore had the Elder Wand before me, but he didn't have any problems because the only person that knew that he had it was locked away in a fortress. The cloak is more of an heirloom now that I'm not sneaking around Hogwarts anymore, plus I do a mean disillusionment charm. As for the stone, it's nice to have a bunch of dead relatives and friends with you when walking to your own death, but other than that it's just creepy, and a bit wrong. They don't belong here. Although, I know that if I ever need advice, there's a dead person that can give it, and most that I knew when they were alive wouldn't mind coming back for a little while to help out. Like when I split up with Ginny, I needed my mum for that one; otherwise her older brothers would have gladly hunted me down and used me as potions ingredients." L mentally winced at that.

"Can the people chasing you find you here?" asked L, making a mental note to look up 'disillusionment charm' at some point, and trying to work out how dead people can come out of a stone, whilst trying not to be jealous of the invisibility cloak. Evil twin indeed... he could think of plenty of uses for an invisibility cloak, and none of the first dozen were moral in the slightest.

"I have spells on me that stop anyone from tracking either me or my magical signature, and even if the few that are left know that I am in Japan, they have no idea what I look like right now. So what about you? Why all the security? It's not like anyone would know who you really are."

"It's because of the level of security that nobody knows who I am," stated L. "I am also a rather large target for criminals. There are many who would pay large amounts of money for the slightest piece of information about me." L glanced sideways at Ryuuki.

"Hey, no worries on that front; I'm absolutely loaded. There's more than enough for several wizard lifetimes in fact, even after I bought my island. I forget how many millions of galleons," Ryuuki said carelessly, waving his hand. He was amused to see L's eyes following his treacle tart as he waved it around. He really was a sugar monster. "In fact, the Ministry is paying me good gold to sit here, eat treacle tart, and tell you about magic."

L snorted, smiling slightly. Ryuuki just didn't seem to care about anything at all. Suddenly Ryuuki gasped, startling L before he could ask about what a Wizard galleon was.

"What is the matter?"

"My _car_! Well it's still the Japanese Ministry's car, and I was planning to buy it anyway, but it would be bad for foreign relations if I lost it."

"It's still at NPA headquarters, in the car park. I actually sent someone to bring it here, but for some reason it hasn't arrived yet." Well, it seemed that he cared about his car. There goes that theory.

It was Ryuuki who snorted this time.

"It's a _magical_ car; it's not going to just sit there and let someone steal it now, is it?" Ryuuki said, grinning and shaking his head. "You have a lot to learn about magic, but somehow I think you'll do fine. In fact, give it five years and you'll know more than me I bet."

"Do you have magical helicopters?" L asked, unable to help himself and almost managing to sound excited. He did rather like helicopters after all. In fact, he would put two black ones on the roof of the new building, and hide them.

"You know what? I don't think we do, at least not in Britain, but that sounds like a really good idea... especially if I just stick a flying charm on one, but I suppose I'd have to sort the blades out somehow, otherwise muggles would wonder how it was flying without the blades spinning, but then the blades spinning would fight the magic, unless... ah nevermind, that's for another time! There was a huge fuss a good few years back when a wizard on his broom got sucked into a jet engine after trying to wave at a plane full of shocked passengers. He was minced before he could draw his wand, so magical folk have been a bit reluctant to play around with flying muggle machines. Now there's a plane load of muggles walking around, terrified of flying and yet not knowing why. There's a giant triple-decker bus that is absolutely crazy, I'll have to show you sometime. Personally I've got a broken flying motorbike that I never get around to messing with. It used to have a sidecar but I..." Ryuuki's words stuck in his throat as he thought of Hedwig. "They've tinkered with cars, boats, buses and of course we have portkeys, floo travel, flying carpets (but they're illegal in Britain unfortunately, they're rather fun), oh and Gringotts has miles upon miles of tunnel systems, and they use these crazy mine carts on floating track to get to people's vaults."

"Mine carts?" L inquired, too excited about all the new knowledge to bother about finding things out for himself later. He suspected that Ryuuki was possibly getting more enjoyment out of telling him, which made everything even more exciting, although he suspected that there was a story there somewhere involving the flying motorbike. He got the feeling that it wasn't a very nice story.

"Yeah! You know, like those mine carts from Donkey Kong on Nintendo64! Or I guess you don't play any games, so the closest thing for you would be a rollercoaster." L still looked blank, but he nodded in understanding. Ryuuki thought for a moment.

"You've never been on a rollercoaster have you?"

L glared. Ryuuki sighed.

"I didn't go on a rollercoaster until I was nineteen. Once Kira is finished, I'll find the biggest coaster in the world and stick you on it. In fact, I'll stick you in a goblin cart and we'll go to one of my vaults, and you'll see some dragons too, since they guard the high security ones."

L was surprised to find that he was feeling a little more cheerful, and he nodded unsurely. It was enough to satisfy Ryuuki though, who grinned at him.

"Although with the crazy speeds they get up to, and all the sharp twists and turns, and bits of track floating around everywhere, I might actually have to magically stick you to the cart," mused Ryuuki thoughtfully.

The description alone was exciting enough that L didn't think he'd mind being stuck to the cart, as long as it was as life-threatening as Ryuuki made it out to be. The times he'd almost died, funnily enough, were the times when he felt the most alive and thankful for it. There was nothing like it.

There was a long forgotten thought that he gladly glossed over before putting it firmly out of his mind, however.

What was the point in going to a fairground, when the seat next to you would always be empty?

When Watari silently entered the room a little while later, it was to see both Ryuuki and L sat on the sofa, heads almost touching as they both leaned over a book, Ryuuki trying to explain something about 'wards', whatever they were, as L seemed to be soaking up every word like a human sponge. It sounded nasty, some of the things these 'wards' could do, and he hoped that they wouldn't come across any, whatever they were. He saw what looked to be blueprints on the coffee table, and he quietly noted that both boys were running out of food and tea.

"Well of course I'd ward the whole building against apparition, further than that would bring magical attention to it, but area wise on the ground it would just seem like a house or something. If they try to get in they'd be sent straight to a cell, bound and petrified. I still think it would be better to have two floor eights and have one under Fidelius."

"I don't quite understand what you mean though, wouldn't it be noticeable from the outside, or some sign of it somewhere?"

"Well it's not like it's just a hidden door, L; I literally mean that it would be completely hidden. Outside and inside, any sign of it would be completely invisible to everyone else, literally as if it wasn't even there, unless the secret keeper told the secret to someone. So only you, me, and Watari would be able to access it and it's the ultimate safe house, both from wizards and muggles. I'm telling you, it will come in handy."

"Alright, that actually sounds insanely reasonable. Could we put the apparition cell inside there, or would there be problems with it being secret?"

"That's actually a really good question; we might have to bring 'Mione in on this one."

Watari gently closed the door, slipping away to fill another cart and bring it to them, hopefully before they saw the need for it.

After all, he'd done his part in life. Now it was time to look after those who would continue to shape the world, hopefully until long after he was gone from it.

**A/N:** Not quite as long this time guys! It's going a bit slower than I'd hoped, I thought I'd be writing mid-January stuff by now, but things are happening differently. Good or bad, I don't know but I'll see where it goes. If I'd written a story outline, it definitely would have been wrecked by now so I'm really glad that I didn't.

I'm also going to take this opportunity to cheekily plug one of my other stories, 'L and the Mystery of Christmas' since it's the season for it and all! Just a short one-shot, but it came to me one night and demanded to be written. Even though it's after Christmas, and I didn't get the next chapter of this done beforehand like I thought I would, I figured I'd plug it anyway. Weird, it's the only story I've finished (short though it is) and nobody reads it? Meh. Well, I like it.

I hope you all had a good Christmas, mine was insane, and I'm glad it's over. We had 2 of them because my Mum came for a visit. Plus my daughter's birthday, plus my birthday. Yeah. Insane.

Also Happy New Year! I honestly hope whoever reads this has good luck this year, even if it looks really bleak in Australia right now. I hope they get all the help they need!


	8. Chapter 8

I'm making absolutely no profit from this, and I mean no disrespect to the original authors of Death note and Harry Potter, So don't sue me.

**A/N:** Here's the next happenings, I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 8**

It was later that same day when Ryuuki began to wonder what his days would now consist of. Before coming to Japan, he'd been under the impression that he'd masquerade as a muggle during the day to pick up clues, and investigate on his own using magic in the evenings. That had all changed with meeting L, and even though he was free to leave at any time since L couldn't really stop him, he didn't really feel like he should.

He would be leaving the morning after next at the latest though, since it would be New Years Eve and he was supposed to be spending it at the Burrow with the Weasleys, 'Dromeda and Teddy. He hadn't told L yet, but he'd figure all of that out later.

"L, when will I be returning to my apartment? There's nothing really I can do here, and you seem to have everything sorted. I'm just sat here doing nothing, and taking up bed space."

L paused in his perusal of the latest data from the NPA, considering the question. Truthfully, he didn't want Ryuuki to leave. He'd much prefer to keep this source of information close, and if Ryuuki found anything with his magic, he wanted to know about it. Ryuuki moving back to his apartment would be rather detrimental.

"You assistance has been of great value regarding the plans for the new building, and as I said before, I do not sleep. There is a spare laptop under the sofa; you should be able to access the NPA from there."

"I thought so. It's such a shame; it had a nice view of the Tokyo skyline. I had a feeling that I wouldn't be seeing it much."

Just then Watari entered the room wheeling yet another cart, and Ryuuki was glad to see a bowl of ramen on there. Did this guy honestly just consume sugar?

"That blood testing kit I ordered for you has arrived L," said Watari, pointing a small box that was sitting on the bottom shelf of the cart. L stopped staring at his screen and slowly turned to glare first at Watari, then Ryuuki, before finally settling on glaring at the box.

"Now _this_ should be interesting! Come on then L, open it up!" Ryuuki said, sitting forward slightly and gesturing to the box.

L's glare intensified. Snape would have been proud.

"Later," L bit out.

Ryuuki drew a loud breath.

"Nice try L; it's the needle, isn't it? If it's any consolation, it's only a _teensy_ little one," Ryuuki said, holding up his forefinger and thumb to demonstrate.

Watari took a seat.

"It's not the needle. I don't need a test," said L, scowling.

"It _is_ the needle, and yes you do," challenged Ryuuki.

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"I don't need a blood sugar test."

"Yes you do."

"You're being very childish Ryuuki-kun."

"So are you _L,_ so just hurry up and stab your finger. Ha, got you there!"

L scowled. Watari poured himself a cup of tea.

"I already know that I can be childish."

"Yes, and I'll use that against you and end up trapping you somehow, so save yourself the hassle and stab your finger. Come on! I really want to see if you're off the chart!"

"No."

"I could always just summon the box, grab your finger, and do it myself."

"No you couldn't," L stated forcefully.

"I suppose if you're _that_ afraid of needles, I could look up the spell for it."

"No."

Ryuuki paused, before a sly grin appeared.

"Ah, so it's the _results_ you're afraid of; you don't want to have to cut down on the cake!" Ryuuki held out his hand towards the box. "_Accio_ _box_!"

L made a lunge for the box, but it was too fast and he missed. Soon Ryuuki was opening the box and reading the instructions.

"Don't you dare," L growled.

"Don't I dare what?" asked Ryuuki innocently, "I'm only reading the instructions." L just glared back.

Watari sat sipping his tea. Ryuuki carried on reading the instructions. L rubbed his toes together, gripping his knees with skeletal fingers.

"I don't want a blood test. I didn't ask for it."

"That doesn't matter; Watari obviously thinks you need one, and I think you should trust him. Now, do I have to do a 'grab and stab'? Or perhaps I could just make it all much easier for everyone involved by freezing you on the spot?"

L glared, and he scowled, and he rubbed his toes together. Looking at Watari, he actually _didn't_ seem to object to Ryuuki freezing him on the spot, whatever that involved, and it wasn't looking good. He _liked_ cake.

"Give me the stupid test," he gritted out. He didn't care; he _would_ be having his cake and eating it, no matter what the test said. Ryuuki threw it to him and he caught it before ripping it open. Within seconds he found the needle mechanism, and a drop of blood welled up on his finger. He quickly jabbed it onto the test area and stuck his finger in his mouth, sneaking glances at the card. A short time later he grinned toothlessly.

"See! I told you I didn't need a test!" said L smugly, grabbing the card and waving it at Ryuuki.

"No way, not with what you eat. Let me see that card!"

Ryuuki peered at the card, which clearly displayed a normal result. He passed the card to Watari, who had gestured for it.

"How did you manage that? Hell must be freezing over as we speak! That's just not normal!"

"Says the Wizard!" L retorted, still grinning smugly. "I'll be having this cake!" he added, reaching for a slice of strawberry sponge cake.

"Yup, you've got me there. Although at least my abnormality is useful," said Ryuuki with a friendly grin, raising his eyebrows briefly.

"Hey! My increased sugar intake accounts for roughly forty percent of my increased brain function, which I assure you is _exceedingly_ useful." said L through a mouthful of cake.

"You need to teach my friend Ron how to talk properly around his food without being disgusting about it. Honestly, he eats like a pig but you seem to pull it off somehow." Ryuuki looked sideways at him as he grabbed the bowl of ramen, heating it slightly through his hand.

"Thank you, I think."

"And I'm thinking that's just an excuse you came up with to justify your cake cravings," said Ryuuki, happily tucking in to his ramen.

"You can think what you want, but I'm still going to eat lots of cake."

The three sat in a comfortable silence, each in their own thoughts.

"Well gentlemen," said Watari, shocking the other two from their thoughts before standing up and placing his teacup on the table, "Thank you very much for the entertainment; oh and L, I'm glad for your sake that your results were normal, otherwise you would be finding your own cake."

Watari left the room with a bow, L staring after him incredulously.

"Isn't that nice of him, looking after your welfare like that? What's the deal with you and Watari anyway? Is he your grandfather or something?"

"Or something," L mumbled around his cake absently, still staring at the door and wondering what had brought about Watari's new attitude.

"Oh come on! You can't expect me to tell you about myself and then expect me not to ask questions in return. If that's not rude, then it should be," said Ryuuki, frowning.

L carried on eating his cake, and Ryuuki ate his ramen, looking up occasionally to glare at L.

"You're really not a people person are you?" Ryuuki grumbled. L glanced at him briefly before continuing to eat his cake, secretly glad to have found a way to annoy Ryuuki. It seemed that he disliked being ignored.

"At least tell me how old you are or something. You can't be too much older than I am, so I'm guessing 25?"

L continued to eat his cake, finishing one slice before reaching for another.

"Oh come on! You're doing it on purpose now."

L ate cake.

"Fine."

Ryuuki brought out a trunk before enlarging it. He dug around for a moment before bringing out a chessboard, and a wooden box. L watched all of this curiously from the corner of his eye, although he tried not to. He watched as Ryuuki placed the board on the coffee table, and opened the wooden box, presumably where he kept the pieces. These pieces were unlike anything he'd ever seen before though.

"Hello little guys, which side would like to be mine tonight then?" Ryuuki spoke into the box.

"_It's him_," said a white pawn, nervously.

"_You not given up yet_?" demanded a white bishop.

"_You're useless_!" squeaked a black pawn.

"_Save yourself the trouble and put the lid back on, lad_!" demanded the black knight.

"_Where's the ginge_?" squeaked another pawn.

"Oh come on guys! I'm not that bad, it's all part of the game, Right? Anyway, where my team loses, the other team wins!" Ryuuki grinned at the rebelling chess pieces. "I'll tell you what, let's get you all set up and you can argue it out on the way!"

The chess pieces grumbled as they assumed their positions.

"It's just me playing because L over there is ignoring me, so will I be black or white this time?" Ryuuki asked grinning at his pieces. A black pawn burst into tears.

"Ooh, white it is then," said Ryuuki, wincing when he remembered that particular pawn being brutally splintered in a previous game with Ron. The white pieces groaned in unison, their king shaking his head in defeat before the game even started.

L had frozen mid chew, before hopping silently from his chair and slowly shuffling closer, cake plate in one hand and a fork dangling from the other. Ryuuki was reminded of a curious child – especially with the bulging cheeks - and he couldn't help the mental smile, even if his face displayed none of his feelings.

"You are bad at chess?" L queried.

"Oh, he speaks! Perhaps it is because he wants something? Otherwise I don't think that he would ask such a stupid question! I expected someone as clever as him to think up a more subtle way to go about getting what he wants." L looked suitably annoyed, so Ryuuki decided to address him directly.

"Can't you hear that black pawn crying? For some reason I don't really feel like sharing more information with you; better luck next time. Pawn to D4." The little pawn looked to his fellows before slowly hopping two spaces, looking rather nervous all by itself in the middle of the board.

"I..." L started quietly, unsure.

"No! Don't worry about it; I can see that you're busy thinking or whatever it is that you do, so I'll just stay out of your way and let you get on with it," interrupted Ryuuki, watching the board as a black pawn (not the one that was still hiccupping and sniffling) hopped forward two spaces.

"I can't tell you these things. Nobody is supposed to know anything about me for a reason." L mumbled through the same mouthful of cake. He couldn't help but remember the amount of information Ryuuki had already gleaned from what little he had said before about Beyond. The chess pieces were silent, the white ones fidgeting slightly and the black ones trying to act like they weren't listening.

"Oh, so it's alright for me to pop 'round the world to get the permission from Downing Street and the Ministry of Magic to tell you about an entire secret society of magical people, but by your logic you can't trust me with something as simple as how old you are. Doesn't that seem flawed to you? Perhaps more than slightly unfair?" L was silent. "From what I have seen so far you either think yourself above the law or you really are above it, otherwise you wouldn't kidnap a man in broad daylight, in the car park of the NPA building no less! So, it's obvious that whatever you're into, it's bigger than just one country, and that's without knowing what little I knew of you before coming here. With you being as young as you are, it seems to me that you have been purposefully trained up as a detective from a rather young age, which quite frankly would explain a lot. Knight to H3."

"It's not as simple as you make it out to be Ryuuki," said L sharply.

"I never said it was simple. I know you've had a lot to take in, but just try to forget the seemingly impossible magical side of things for a moment. I came here secretly for a reason, I joined the NPA for a reason, my society is a worldwide secret for a reason, and I saw the need to share those secrets with you and Watari for a reason. Unfortunately for me, I also know that I'm right when I say that there's a reason we've met! Not only have I told – and shown - you things that are rather personal; I've told you not just my secret, but the secret of every magical person on this planet, whether you know who they are or not. The fact is that now you know that they exist! I'm _supremely_ grateful-" Ryuuki rolled his eyes to the ceiling as if thanking a deity, "-that neither of the Ministers seemed to pick up on the _tiny_ fact that you could probably blow the whole thing wide open if you wanted to, because I'm really not sure what I could have said to smooth that over! It's a risk that I felt I had to take to bring about Kira's downfall sooner. I know that you won't be able to bring Kira to justice on your own, and I know that finding Kira and destroying the weapon is much more important than the secrets that either of us are keeping from each other." Ryuuki waved his arms around for emphasis, startling Seth slightly, who hissed quietly before going back to sleep.

"How can you know that? I can understand that you have revealed the existence of an entire society, and that it was a risk, but how can you knowing my age determine our success in finding Kira?" L said, blandly, the only noticeable change to his tone being when he had turned his head slightly to check on Seth.

"It's not that at all! It's not your age that is important; you _still_ don't understand!" Ryuuki threw his head back and stared at the ceiling. "The key words are 'our success'. I learned this lesson a long time ago. The only reason that so many people survived the war with Voldemort is that we all _trusted_ each other with our _lives_. Without that absolute trust, I know that I would be dead - probably strangled by a plant in my first year - if I hadn't trusted that my friend knew what she was talking about. Voldemort trusted no-one and therefore he was alone, even though he had Death Eaters. I was many decades younger than him, unqualified, but I was stronger than him because I had support. If we don't trust each other, then we're just two people working separately to reach the same goal, wasting our time by constantly keeping an eye on one another to see if we're about to be stabbed in the back. If that's the case then I would rather know now so that I can move back to my apartment. Like I said, it has a lovely view." Ryuuki turned back to the board. "Oi! Come on you lot! Quit eavesdropping and get moving! It's black's turn!"

L watched as the black pieces started mumbling to each other, before a knight hopped out. Ryuuki grinned and moved another pawn. L had no idea why Ryuuki would be smiling. He seemed to have no strategy at all.

"I understand that it is not just your secret. Therefore I think that you will understand when I say that there is a lot that I cannot tell you, since it is not my place to do so. Unfortunately a lot of my answers could potentially lead to information that I don't have a right to share."

"And who would you have to ask for permission to share that information?" asked Ryuuki curiously, completely unaffected by L's blank, piercing gaze. He hadn't survived years of Snape and Voldemort without gaining some immunity, after all.

"I..." L trailed off, unwilling to point the finger at Watari.

"Just forget about it," Ryuuki stated irritably, and he turned his body away from L, staring at the chessboard and watching as one of the black pawns moved forward. "After all, I'm well within my rights to expose the world I sacrificed so much to save, to the stone-cold detective L hmm? Somehow I don't think a lot of the purebloods would agree. Also, it may interest you to know that as far as the Ministers are concerned, you are both now my responsibility, so it would be rather stupid of me to do something that would endanger you both."

L was terribly confused. On the one hand he knew that Ryuuki made a lot of sense, but on the other, he found it hard to trust _anyone_. It had taken years - not hours - before he had fully trusted Watari, and yet Ryuuki expected him to... well he didn't really know what Ryuuki expected him to do, other than to answer the question about his age. L reluctantly recognised that he had already placed a lot of trust in Ryuuki whether he wanted to or not, and he took a step back, still holding the plate and his fork. Ryuuki didn't react, and continued staring at the chessboard, so L turned and made his way across to his laptop. Hopefully if he put some distance between them, things would become clearer.

Ryuuki wanted L to trust him, and L already did to a certain extent. Ryuuki wanted to ask pointless questions about his age, which he couldn't see an obvious reason for. Why would Ryuuki want to know his age? True, L had asked the same question, but he'd had a reason! What possible reason could Ryuuki have for wanting to know his age, and how on Earth could his _age_ determine how trustworthy he was?

"Ryuuki, why is my age so important?"

Ryuuki paused, and turned his head to look at L. The more time he spent around L, the more he was beginning to realise just how _young_ he was in a lot of ways. It was like the strange owl-like man had never had a normal conversation before in his life. Almost like he really was just a machine. Had he really spent the last decade - at least, by the looks of things - holed up somewhere, talking through a machine, with nobody but Watari for company? Practically isolated, except for murder case after murder case piling in. It was unbelievable. Unfortunately it also seemed to be the closest thing to an explanation that he had. Thinking about it, to be near his own age, and to have solved over 3,500 cases worldwide... That was insane. He was strangely reminded of Data from Star Trek, the android who wanted to learn how to be more human.

"It's actually a rather common question to ask if you want to know more about the person you're talking to. I suppose some people would find it rude... either way, we need to trust each other, and knowing more about each other is a way to do that. You not answering such a little question tells me that you think that I would use that information against you if I had the opportunity, which is rather annoying considering that we've already established that if I wanted to hurt you, then I would have done so already. One step forward, two steps back. Like I said, you are both my responsibility now, and it would make my job a lot easier if you both trusted me. Knight to A3."

"And what exactly are you responsible for?" asked L shrewdly. Ryuuki decided that sticking to the truth was his best option. If he didn't know that it was impossible, he'd say that L was a legilimens. It was just a feeling he had, that L would know if he lied.

"If you or Watari did decide to expose the magical world, then the magical world would hold me accountable after publicly announcing to the muggles that you've gone insane. If something happens to either of you due to your knowledge of the magical world, then I'm also held accountable. If you are accidentally involved in something magical that would ordinarily cause your memories to be erased, the ministry officials would read your note and immediately send for me. If you ever need treatment at a magical hospital, then I would be your next of kin, and I would probably have to be with you. Basically, I'm yours and Watari's magical guardian. It may seem strange, but the same happens with muggle parents of magical children... the child becomes the parent's magical guardian, and that's even stranger."

"Why would I need to go to a magical hospital if I'm not magical?" asked L curiously. Ryuuki shifted uncomfortably.

"Let's just say I make good on my threat of turning you into an ass, but a door slams half way through the spell and you end up stuck halfway between a man and a donkey..." Ryuuki trailed off as he saw that L understood, as his face paled slightly and his eyed widened.

"Ah, I see. So normally if magic is used around a muggle, the Ministry knows straight away? That's why you had to send a message back to them..." said L. A black bishop moved, endangering one of Ryuuki's pawns.

"Otherwise an Auror would have magically appeared to interrogate you on whatever you may have seen, remove your memory of the event if necessary, and track the wizard's magic to apprehend the culprit. Without permission, it's just plain illegal to use your wand if muggles can see you. There are loopholes of course, and it's not quite that simple, but it's the super simplified version. It's likely that an Auror would only show up if there was a call to emergency services from this address, since they have magical people watching for that sort of thing. Otherwise in a city like Tokyo it would all get a bit ridiculous."

"It's illegal to use your wand... but you don't really need your wand, do you?" asked L, shuffling forward again, his cake in one hand and the fork still swinging between forefinger and thumb as he moved.

Ryuuki grinned, and waggled his eyebrows.

"So why do you use it if it can be tracked?"

"Because then they think they know what I am doing, and everything else slips by unnoticed of course! I'm Untrackable, but my wand is registered."

Now L was smiling slightly too. He watched as Ryuuki moved a rook to protect the pawn. The other black knight came in to play.

"And they can't trace your magic, just your wand? Do they know which spells you do? Is it the same for everyone?" L asked quickly, leaning forward. Ryuuki looked up from contemplating his next move and grinned.

"So how old are you then?"

L's fork stopped swinging, and then he leaned back slightly. He sighed and stared blankly at the wall.

"Bishop to D2," muttered Ryuuki lazily.

"Fine. I understand your terms. I'm 24. Black knight to D4." L swung his head round to look straight at Ryuuki. _There. The ball is on your side, Ryuuki_. He sat down opposite Ryuuki and was startled when he realised that the black chess pieces were staring at him with their mouths open. It almost made him smile. He raised his eyebrows at the pieces, and smirked when the knight moved to take Ryuuki's pawn, which he noted was shaking slightly.

However it was Ryuuki who was smiling the widest; he was thoroughly amused to see L gasp and fall backwards in his chair as the knight brutally decimated Ryuuki's pawn.

"Hey L, did you read about my first year where my friends and I bypassed Professor McGonagall's chess set?" L nodded, wide eyed. "Well, it was life sized, and it was Wizards chess. Gave us quite a fright. The worst these little guys can do is bite you" A few of the pieces turned to glare at Ryuuki, who just shrugged back at them.

"I am glad to be a muggle," stated L as he settled back into his familiar crouch.

"Hey, being magical isn't that bad usually. It's just me and my friends that seem to get into all of that crazy stuff. Most people just live their lives, do their jobs, raise their kids, and live peacefully, much like muggles but with magic. Don't think I didn't notice all the symbolism you just happened to cram in there, by the way. You picking the piece that can move in an 'L' shape, and picking off the first piece I played? Yeah, noted. Um, pawn to C3."

L looked a bit sceptical at first, before he smirked slightly at being found out, but Ryuuki let it drop.

"As for your questions; yes, they can only track the wand. Yes, they can monitor which spells have been performed with my wand. No, it's not the same for everyone. It's all rather complicated, and these systems have been in place for hundreds of years, so it's likely that only the Unspeakables know how it all works... basically, all Department Heads in the Ministry are made Untrackable for security reasons, although because of my fame, I was an exception, and I've been Untrackable since I was a baby for my own safety. These people then have to submit their wands to have a special trace applied to them that only links to the Ministry of their country. Being linked to Japan's is a... concession because of something else... Since the war, most of us don't mind being traced, since it has caught a few things that could have caused a lot of problems... most people's magical signatures are now registered with the Ministry when they take their apparition test. Of course, criminals can make themselves Untrackable, but it does make it easier to prove a person's innocence. Long story short, anything I do without my wand can only be discovered if someone were to be right here in this room, casting a charm that detects residual magic. Even then, as Head Auror I know how to erase all traces, and you are the fourth person to know that I can do it wandless."

"So you really could cast any spell you wanted, and then erase all traces that you were ever there?"

"Within reason, yes. You have to remember though, if you are thinking of using me to gather evidence, then it will need to be in a way that can be explained in a muggle court. The Wizarding courts would only get involved if Kira is a Witch or Wizard. Actually I'm not sure what they would do if Kira is a muggle, and he somehow ends up killing a Wizard. They might just make an exception in that case, and the muggles would have to accept that Kira was shot at the scene or something. Transfigure a toothpick into something that looks like a dead body, shoot it a few times, and the muggles won't know the difference."

"That's... both extremely disturbing, and amazingly brilliant. So you've had to do that before then?"

Ryuuki shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes. It hasn't happened often, but it's a required skill in my line of work. It also works the other way too. It makes my job a lot harder when a missing person could potentially be an animal, or a side table, or a book. In my fourth year, Barty Crouch Junior killed Barty Crouch Senior, transfigured him into a piece of bone, and buried it in Hagrid's pumpkin patch. The only reason anyone knew about it, was because he was fed Veritaserum before that idiot Fudge fed him to the Dementors. I suppose a lot of magic is 'amazingly brilliant' but it isn't so good when the other side have magic too." Ryuuki hoped he'd distracted L from the less... _tasteful_ aspects of his job. It wasn't nice having to clean up after rogue vampires, or the odd magical creature attack.

"Veritaserum..." L quickly recognised the Latin components and pieced it together in his mind. He continued without a noticeable pause. "A truth potion?"

"Yes, the strongest there is. It takes a lot of training to overcome its effects, as I can tell you from experience, and there is an antidote, so it's not enough to stand in court, but most people would have to answer any question asked, truthfully."

"A bit like a lie detector test then."

"Yes. Also, it only forces the person to say what they feel to be the truth. People are easily deceived, and therefore it's a way of deceiving the potion."

"I see. In that case it really is much like a muggle lie detector, and would serve little purpose, other than to solidify any suspicions for ourselves."

The chess game had been practically forgotten in their discussion, and the pieces were uncharacteristically silent. Some of them were sitting on their squares, watching the exchange, and there was even a white bishop snoring quietly, slumped on its square.

"Pretty much. I'm not sure what the effects would be on a muggle, I'd have to ask Hermione that one. I'm not even sure if it would be the same dosage for muggles, or if there would be any crazy side effects."

"What was your plan in coming to Japan? If we're going to work together on this, then we both need to know what the other is doing-,"

"-Otherwise we could end up ruining each other's plans and tipping Kira off, right?"

"Right," confirmed L testily, irritated at being interrupted. That could get rather infuriating if it became a habit.

"My plan was to pick up clues from working with the NPA, then use magic to check up on any leads in my free time. If you hadn't decided that I was more interesting than Kira, we might have had a decent lead already, but any traces that were left in the subway will be long gone by now, especially with all the foot traffic moving through there. Plus with it being underground, the magical traces are reabsorbed into the Earth faster."

"Hmmm. Thanks to you finding that odd bus incident though, I already have a suspect. However, his identity could cause us a lot of problems."

"Who and how?"

L hopped down from his chair and shuffled over to the desk where he grabbed a thin stack of papers and shuffled back to Ryuuki, who was startled when his view of the room was suddenly obscured by text, and a small picture of an auburn haired teenager. Ryuuki leaned back slightly and peeked round the papers at L, before cautiously taking them and glancing at the name.

"Ah. That's... not good. This... is going to get messy," Ryuuki said thoughtfully, dragging his bottom lip between his teeth.

"Both witnesses from the bus incident were interviewed separately, and both mentioned a young man fitting Yagami Raito's description sitting near the back, who had a direct confrontation with the hijacker. I'd already narrowed the list of suspects down to two families due to the unfortunate death of the agent who was assigned to watch them, who also happened to be on the bus at the time. I have tried to contact the agent's fiancé but I haven't had any luck so far." L hopped onto his chair, grabbing a box of panda cookies on the way.

"I know what you're getting at. You think he might have mentioned something to her. I'm guessing you've already picked up on the fact that the hijacker was killed by a car..."

"...which would suggest the possibility of Kira being able to manipulate cause of death, and I already have proof that Kira can control their actions leading up to their deaths. If I'm right, the degree of control is something I have never encountered."

"The closest spell I can think of is the Imperius curse, but I would think that it would take decades – if not centuries – to modify it to do everything that this Kira can do... there's the distance as well. It's just as impossible in my world as it is in yours, so we're both in the dark here."

"Imperius?" It was said flatly, but Ryuuki knew that an explanation was required.

"Basically, you point your wand, say the word, and whoever the spell hits will be under your control. You have to be in range for the spell to hit, but after that the person is yours to command until you lift the spell. It can be broken though, if your willpower is greater than the casters. It's classed as an Unforgivable, and gets you a one way ticket to Azkaban," Ryuuki summarised. "You mentioned evidence?"

"It's in that pile." Ryuuki settled back in his chair and began to read.

L studied the chessboard for a few seconds before picking up a pawn, but he hissed in pain and slight shock as the thing squeaked and bit his finger.

"Hey!" he exclaimed as he dropped it on the floor, tempted to throw a book on it, much like dealing with an errant spider. He had thoughts of it hopping to his chair and biting his ankles or something.

"_Hey yourself_!" it squeaked back at him. He stared down at it cautiously. "_Put me back on the board_!"

"Ah, this isn't like muggle chess. Wizard pieces don't really like being picked up; they're actually rather independent. If a set takes a liking to you they can even give out advice. Best to just put your hand next to it and let it hop on by itself. It will sort itself out when it gets back on the board."

"Isn't that cheating? Taking advice?"

"Not really, because of the time and effort usually involved in getting a set of pieces to like you. I've had these guys for years and they still hate me!"

"_It's not that we hate you lad, we just think you shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a chessboard! No respect for the game at all, have you_?" said the white king snootily. Ryuuki rolled his eyes and ignored the disgruntled king.

"My friend Ron has a set that has been handed down through his family, and he's brilliant at chess. I've never won against him, but I have to say that I prefer to watch the pieces smash each other apart." There was a collective gasp from the chess pieces. "Don't ever tell Ron that though, otherwise he'll nag me to play properly." L tilted his head slightly, glancing at the board.

"I have to say that these pieces are much more interesting than the ones I usually play with. I doubt that I will be meeting your friend, so you've nothing to worry about." Ryuuki laughed.

"No such luck L'y welly; Ron's dad is the Minister, who has already extended a dinner invitation to both you and Watari, and it would be terribly rude of you to refuse the Minister. Plus Molly is an excellent cook, which is a bonus. Knowing Molly, she'll want to fatten you up, and with luck she'll send us packing with a few pies."

"You... If you _ever_ call me that again, I will start kicking you and I can't guarantee that I will stop," said L, sounding slightly bemused.

"Why would you care if I messed with your alias...? Unless... nah. Don't tell me you got named 'Elmer' or 'Elliot' or something like that. Way too obvious."

L grimaced.

"Elijah? Eloysius?"

"No and definitely no."

"Ellis?"

"Hell no."

"Elvis?"

"This is pointless."

"Yes, but I was entertained. You know, if I squint a little, you could actually pass as an Elijah," said Ryuuki, tilting his head and peering at L through his eyelashes.

L decided not to ask how a person can look like a name.

"Can you find people with your magic?" asked L. Ryuuki sighed.

"Yes. There are a few problems though, since I'm guessing you want me to find a muggle. Eleutherius?"

"What kind of problems? And you're not even close."

"I'll just have to start on the names beginning with L then. I would need something that belongs to the person; the greater the emotional attachment to the object, the better, since muggles don't have magic. Lawrence?"

"Unfortunately that might not be possible. Is there no other alternative?"

"There is one, but it's not as precise. If I know what the person looks like, and even just their first name, my wand will spin and point me in the right direction. Funnily enough it's actually called the 'Point Me' spell."

"That's..."

"A bit Kira-ish, I know. There's logic behind it though! I have to have something for my magic to identify. I need a name for references sake, and a clear picture to focus on."

"That... makes sense... in both situations, actually." L remarked idly as he rummaged in his bag and brought out a cheesecake, before sticking out his foot and digging in his pocket, bringing out a clean fork.

"Obsessed with sweets... brings weird things out of strangely deep pockets..." Ryuuki murmured.

"You said something?"

"Ah, eh, nothing! It doesn't matter." Ryuuki blurted, reminded once again of Dumbledore, and therefore his broken body at the base of the Astronomy Tower. Funny how it was _always_ the more terrible things that stood out. Who was it that had said that 5 good memories were needed to negate every bad memory? He couldn't remember.

"What doesn't matter?" L countered.

"Oh no you don't! I'm not stupid enough for that to work! In fact, you'll have to excuse me while I have a think on whether or not to be offended by you even _thinking_ that cheap tactic would work on me."

L raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'm a detective. I detect things."

"True. I suppose it is in your nature. Anyway, from what I can see, Yagami junior seems to tick all the right boxes. It would be a real shame though; he looks like he's got great potential. A creepy guy once said to me about Voldemort doing great things, terrible but great. I suppose it would be the same for this guy if he turned out to be Kira. Personally, at the time I thought the creepy guy was a complete nutter."

"Your move."

"Huh? When did that happen... and what did you move?"

"I'm not telling," stated L blandly, prompting a look of annoyance from Ryuuki.

"Right you lot, which one of you did the overgrown owl move?"

"_No idea who you mean lad_!"

"_Owl_? _What owl_?"

"_There's an owl in here_?"

The pieces looked far too innocent.

"Right, I know your game little guys. See what I mean, L? They hate me. Not helpful to me at all," said Ryuuki helplessly, before glaring at the chess pieces, who snickered back at him, prompting a rare smile from L. No teeth, mind you, but a smile nonetheless.

"Why don't you play properly?" asked L curiously. Being as competitive as he was, it was slightly difficult for him to grasp the concept of a person playing a game, just to lose on purpose.

"At first it was because I didn't really know how to play. Then I saw how passionate my friend was when showing me the game, and how happy he was when he won. I suppose I just thought of chess as Ron's thing. From then on, it's been kind of fun picking which pieces are going to get smashed up next, I suppose." Ryuuki frowned contemplatively.

The chess pieces all booed squeakily. Ryuuki ignored them.

"So you never put in the effort to win, because you wanted to please your friend?" L queried, sounding disinterested. He was staring at the chessboard. Or perhaps _through_ the chessboard. It was difficult to tell.

"I suppose you could put it like that. I don't mind really." Ryuuki said carefully, sensing that there was something else.

L sat chewing a random sweet thing he'd lifted out of the bag. Apparently the half cheesecake wasn't enough.

"So, if I showed you a picture, and gave you the person's fake name, the magic wouldn't work?"

"Eh? What?" began Ryuuki, thrown by the abrupt return to the previous topic. "Um, actually the name just reinforces the mental image. If I pictured someone I knew, and said a fake name, I'd have to concentrate really hard for it to work, because I'd know I was putting the wrong label on the tin, if you know what I mean. If I don't know any different, then I guess it would still work. I hate explaining this stuff! That's 'Mione's job." Ryuuki grumbled, before standing up and moving towards the table with the teapot. L watched as Ryuuki poured himself a cup of tea, noticing the lack of steam and wondering if he should warn Ryuuki. He decided not to, and watched in anticipation as he continued asking his questions.

"Ah, so one friend is a strategist, and the other is good with information," he concluded.

"Well, yes I suppose. Ron is pretty good with strategy, and 'Mione is a walking encyclopaedia. In fact, I'm not sure what she'd do if she met you; that could be interesting actually... I think she would hover somewhere between being glad that someone else is near her level, and being absolutely desperate to 'fix' you." Ryuuki brought his cold tea back to the chess table, and sat cross legged in his chair, frowning down at his cup. L was both disappointed and amazed as he watched steam begin to rise from the top. He reclaimed the other half of his cheesecake and mentally calculated how many bites he had left. Perhaps he could compromise on the size of the bites, if it would make it last longer...

L's eyes widened as he recalled Ryuuki's words about his friend. "No thank you, I am fine as I am." He'd had enough meddling for one day, although it _had_ turned out in his favour...

"Hmmm."

"Ryuuki-kun, we shall have to put this away," said L, motioning to the chess pieces, who all breathed sighs of relief. "I need to speak with the NPA shortly. If you wouldn't mind, I have a picture to show you, and a person for you to find. If she is not in grave danger already, then I have a bad feeling that she soon will be." Normally L would have insisted on leaving the game for them to return to later, but it wasn't advisable with these pieces. Also it wasn't much of a victory if his opponent wasn't even playing to win.

"How do you know this?" Ryuuki asked curiously.

L weighed his options. If he withheld the information from Ryuuki, there was no telling what the strange wizard would do. He could suddenly decide not to find Naomi, telling him that since he wasn't going to be forthcoming, he could just find her by himself. If only Ryuuki didn't insist on playing these strange, annoying games with him!

"I have worked with her previously, and she has proved herself to be extremely capable in her field of expertise. Following the death of her fiancé, I believe that she would be driven to conduct her own investigation into the Kira murders. My inability to contact her would support my theory. If she does happen to stumble across Kira, she would be in grave danger." L had shuffled over to the tea tray himself, pouring himself a cup of cold tea, and grabbing the sugar bowl.

"Would you mind?" asked L, holding out his cold cup of tea to Ryuuki.

Ryuuki looked at him quizzically, laughed, and took the cup. "You're something else, you really are!" He handed L a cup of steaming liquid.

"Yes. I am L."

"Yeah, Yeah. Greatest detective, ever, in the whole history of the world – No! The _Universe_! All hail L!" Ryuuki punched the air.

L stared.

"Too far?" asked Ryuuki mockingly, tilting his head. "Wet blanket. You could probably put a candle out with that stare."

L sighed. "Why do you play these pointless games?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. Ryuuki sat forward, holding his tea with both hands, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Because I can. I'm Kinjo Ryuuki, who doesn't actually exist. Therefore he behaves however I want him to. It's almost like freedom!" he said, wistfully. "Usually I have to 'set an example' and watch everything I do in case someone snaps a picture and sends it to the newspaper. They caught me tripping over the other week and they went _on_ and _on_ about it for _days_. Apparently, Lords don't trip. I must have missed that paragraph in the Handbook." Ryuuki grimaced before glancing at L, who looked disbelieving.

"_Fine_ you insane owl! Quit _perching_ there, glaring at me! You freaked me out, okay?" Ryuuki glared. "You had people kidnap me, and then you pretended to be a damn robot! Usually I get knocked out and wake up trapped in a room, which is easy to deal with! You-" he pointed his finger at a bemused L, "actually kept me awake, hearing noises, knowing I was pretty stuck unless I wanted the Japanese Ministry chasing me down. If I'm knocked out, then I blame someone else and figure out how to get out of there alive. If I'm awake, I actually have to do the 'walk of shame' myself, which is a whole lot different. I told you the truth before! Put me in a stupidly messed up situation and I crack terrible jokes! Is it really so hard to believe? Did you really have to get me to say it again? I wasn't lying about the newspaper thing either; they really did report that..."

"I unnerved you?" L asked, focussed on stirring the mountain of sugar cubes that were trying to dissolve in his tea.

"If you want to be all gentlemanly about it, then yes. Satisfied?" replied Ryuuki, flopping his arms out and rolling his eyes to the ceiling.

"Immensely." Yes, L was definitely smug.

Ryuuki glared at L as he raised his cup of sludge to take a sip. He concentrated for a moment, before snapping his fingers for effect. L found himself gulping air, and he knocked the cup against the bridge of his nose with a _thunk_ as the cup suddenly weighed a _lot_ less than it had a second ago.

"And now, so am I!" snorted Ryuuki, chuckling at the incredulous look on L's face.

"Hey, don't look at me like that! It could have been a LOT worse! I could have made your sludge appear on your head, like this!" He raised his fingers as if to snap them.

L's eyes widened and he yelped as he leapt up off his chair towards the exit. Today was not a shower day! He only stopped when he registered Ryuuki howling with laughter. He could just barely make out through the laughter that Ryuuki wasn't serious about his last threat.

"That's not funny Ryuuki!"

"It totally is! If you had done that to me, you would have found it pretty funny, right?" Ryuuki asked with his eyebrows raised.

L had to concede on this point. If he could have, he would have. Gleefully. In fact he probably would have thought up something worse. Watari had once informed him that L's idea of revenge was 'terrifying'. He would have to think of something suitable later, if he found the time.

"The information you will need is in the plain white envelope hidden somewhere in that stack," stated L in his monotone. It was the only form of agreement he was willing to give at the present time.

"Hmm, so it is. Is there any chance of setting up the bedroom as an apparition zone? It would save me having to use the front entrance so often," said Ryuuki as he opened the envelope, shaking out a picture of a Japanese woman who looked to be in her late twenties. "In fact... roof first. Just to get a general direction without waving my wand around in public. In fact... the roof would make a great landing pad, as long as I can remember where it is. Unless you want me to bring her back here? That would be slightly more complicated. In fact, unless you want me using my own initiative, you'd better tell me exactly what you're expecting before you disappear to that meeting of yours!" Ryuuki folded his arms and shrugged slightly.

L sighed inaudibly. "I suppose... I am used to Watari... here," he said, before fishing around in one of his pockets and bringing out a mobile phone that was new enough to still have the protective plastic film stuck to the screen. "Give her this, tell her she will understand when she opens the phone, and to stay under the radar until 'a mutual acquaintance' contacts her personally. If necessary tell her she is in danger. Either way she must accept the phone, and you must also find out if she has told _anyone_ her real name in the last few weeks, and if she did then who she told it to. You should refer to her as N."

"And... methods of transport to and from won't matter a jot. Excellent! Hopefully I'll be back in time for tea! Uhm, you won't be able to hear what I'm saying for a little while, but I suppose you can stand there and watch if you want."

Ryuuki turned away from L, fiddling with something. When he turned back, he was holding a golden jar with an engraved lily on the top, that seemed to be hanging... around... his neck... and his arm had disappeared into it, before bringing out a tiny broomstick, and a bundle of cloth. An honest-to-god broomstick. It was almost absurd. In fact no... This time it really _was_ absurd. L was crazily thinking of how useful it would be to have some sort of spell on his pockets so that he could fit more in, whilst at the same time frantically rewiring his brain to accept theories and concepts that had previously been labelled as 'impossible'. This was what Ryuuki was protecting? A locket that could turn into a jar, that happened to contain two of the most powerful objects in the world. He probably stored quite a lot in there, actually. It would be rather convenient. How couldn't he escape then? How did he end up with those scars? There were so many important questions that he'd failed to find answers for. Unfortunately he didn't have enough time, and he had to trust Ryuuki on this one. In fact, Ryuuki may be Naomi Misora's only hope.

He gasped involuntarily when Ryuuki disappeared under his cloak, disembodied chuckles the only evidence of his presence. Oh, to own a cloak such as that one... the things he would do...

It was probably a good thing that he didn't own one, after all. It would definitely tempt him into doing something foolish. He mentally sighed as he reminded himself of the meeting, and that they were probably ready to start, even if he'd rather investigate the possibilities of that cloak. He just didn't have enough time.

No matter how fast he worked, or how many sleepless nights he had, there was never enough time to do everything. By now, his mind was a graveyard of all the genius plans that he didn't have time to implement. Hopefully, Misora wouldn't be added any time soon. Shuffling over to his main computer, he started fiddling with the equipment, listening to the background chatter at the NPA, and to the varied mutters of discontent.

Would it happen today?

**A/N:** Next chapter we find out how Harry gets on with finding Naomi... and L is left to his own devices. Meanwhile, just what is Watari up to? Also a bunch of other stuff happens. Sorry for any Seth fans, but he ate a huge rat and had to sleep it off in this chapter.

Both of our heroes have now gained at least a measure of respect for each other, and we shall have to see how it turns out. L is feeling the pressure of the case, the magic, and of dealing with Ryuuki's odd moods, and Ryuuki is finding it difficult to be under so much scrutiny, but at the same time his saving-people-thing is telling him that L is... shall we say... sadly _lacking_ in certain areas, even if he's a genius. We shall see!

Yes, I actually got out a chessboard and planned the entire game, with those results in mind, and I pat myself on the back for my success!

After having finished the next chapter, I'm convinced that this story is writing itself. I did have a sort-of plan, but Harry is changing absolutely everything and the Wizarding World won't stand still, and it's no longer the world we saw from the books... I was originally thinking of following Death Note canon, but Harry is forcing it all on a tangent. I should have expected this really, since merging two worlds can never be simple... I literally do not know what is happening until I write it, which probably means that when I'm done I'll end up going through it to correct a few things that will inevitably go wrong, but bear with me since this is the longest thing I've ever written. I also have a rather severe case of Fibromyalgia which means that my mind struggles with ideas and concepts a lot of the time, with brief windows of clarity interspersed with times where I stare blankly at the screen, fingers poised, waiting patiently for the right words to form through the haze. I'll keep going though, and I will keep trying, and I'll see where this story takes me.

Sorry for the long note!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Ryuuki stood on the roof of the hotel, taking a moment to appreciate the view. The wind ruffled his hair, pushing it back from his face, and revealing the lightning bolt scar for anyone to see, if there had been anyone looking. Fortunately for Ryuuki, there wasn't. He sent out the magical pulse to search for any nearby cameras and disrupt them. He sighed.

Now that he was alone, he could drop the act slightly. It did get rather tiresome, constantly channelling the Weasley twins like that. He somehow thought that Fred would approve of his methods though, which may have made him smile at any other time, but at that moment he was just glad to be alone. He felt like he'd crammed a month's worth of happiness into the last two days, although L wasn't really as bad as he first thought he would be. It genuinely surprised him that L was only a year older.

It seemed that his initial idea was paying off. Bombard the genius detective with a lot of stuff that he didn't understand, keep him busy taking it all in and thinking of how to use magic to his advantage, and hopefully the more personal issues would be glossed over. He had the permission to talk about the training, but to be honest there really wasn't that much to tell by the looks of things. L and Watari already knew their way around security issues, and that was the focus of his training. It was only a secret because of the level of security that he'd been trained to breach, but from the looks of the new building that L was designing, even _he_ would difficulty getting in there as a muggle. L had some terrifyingly crazy ideas, especially when confronted with the existence of magic. The man actually wanted heat-sensing technology on every floor, and hidden vents that could silently fill an entire floor with sleeping gas in under a minute. This had been prompted by Ryuuki mentioning the disillusionment charm in a previous conversation.

It had to be said, that Ryuuki was amazed by L. Even Hermione wasn't as... efficient, for lack of a better term. Sure, she could list of a bunch of spells, their uses, who invented them, and probably what books she found them in, but L was in a different league. He remembered _everything_. Every conversation, every twitch, every picture, every name. Ryuuki had watched in fascination as L read books in his weird way, only touching the top corners of the pages with the tips of his thumb and forefinger, barely looking at one page before turning over to the next. In fact, he seemed to spend more time looking at the pictures. It was as if he was watching them repeatedly, taking in every last detail. He'd even asked for a magical dictionary, which Ryuuki wasn't even sure _existed_. He'd asked why L was just flicking through the pages, and L had confusingly replied, "There is very little point in me reading the same words twice at this point in time." Ryuuki had at first refused to believe that what L was doing could be classed as reading. However, in a later discussion it was apparent that reading had been exactly what he was doing. Even as he had been talking to Ryuuki.

Then there were other things, like L recalling Neville straight away, and picking up on the tiniest of details. He was feeling rather trapped. If anything, telling L about magic made him feel even more defenceless, especially adding that stupid book into the mix. Here he was, still knowing next to nothing about this L, and Ryuuki had gone and handed him Harry's life on a silver platter. It wasn't like him. It almost felt like he had just armed the man with a powerful weapon, and now he had to make sure that the stubborn man just a couple of floors below him didn't do something stupid with it.

Literally the only defence he felt that he had left against such a powerful mind, was the unpredictability of his actions so far. If he could keep L guessing what he _would_ do, rather than thinking of what he _could_ do, he might just scrape through this without being chewed up and spat out by L, or being murdered by Kira.

There was one major thing that he could see, that could probably spell the end of any alliance between the Wizard Saviour and the Genius Detective; and that would be the Wizard Saviour's morals. He was fairly certain that they were referencing completely different instruction manuals on that score.

Yes, he could probably find the Yagami kid right now if he wanted to, scan his memories briefly, make him forget the meeting ever happened, and find out if the kid really was Kira; but just because he had the ability, and could erase all traces of his being there, didn't mean that Ryuuki found it to be an acceptable thing to do, no matter how much he wished that things could be that easy. Granted, if the kid really was Kira, then he'd feel slightly less guilty, but he'd still need to find a muggle way of proving it. However, if he looked into Yagami Jr's mind and he was innocent, it would be a terrible violation, and it would constantly eat away at him. He'd met the Chief, so he would feel even worse. He probably wouldn't be able to look the man in the eye for a long time, regardless of his son's guilt or innocence.

He could thank Snape for his attitude regarding Legillimency. Anything that was even close to what Snape did to him set off alarm bells, and triggered some kind of guilt trip. He truly hated having to Obliviate people, and although he recognised the need for it, that didn't stop him from feeling terrible afterwards. It's our experiences that make us who we are, after all, and what right should he have to take those experiences away from people?

Travelling to and fro without being detected, using personal magic without being detected; stuff like that was one thing. However, using his 'stealthy magic' against another person, a _muggle_ no less, was just simply _wrong_ in his opinion; it worried him that if the situation with Kira worsened, then L could possibly try and pressure him into using magic immorally through some genius plan of his, thereby forcing him to either comply and be on L's good side (did the guy even _have_ a good side? Watari didn't seem to get special treatment), or to refuse and get bumped up the suspect list as a conspirator of some sort. So many things could just go _wrong_ here. It was safer to be unpredictable. Perhaps he should refuse a couple of minor things to make sure that L wouldn't rely on magic...

Shivering slightly, he realised that he had been wasting time, and that any cameras would be active again in roughly five minutes, so he cast a wandless warming charm before bringing out his wand. He pictured the woman's face clearly.

"Point Me, Misora!"

The wand spun on his hand before settling, giving him a rough direction. He quickly slipped his wand back into its holster, and swung his invisibility cloak around his shoulders. It would have looked rather impressive, if the wind hadn't almost blown it out of his hands.

"Damn." The cloak whipped around him, refusing to keep him covered, and the spell that would sort it out would interfere with him riding his broom. It would be like trying to fly wearing a cardboard box.

Disillusionment it was. The drawback with using the charm was that if you moved too fast, then you could be seen. He hoped that the rapidly greying sky would give him enough cover, and it would be dark enough soon that it shouldn't matter. He stuffed the cloak into his trouser pocket, satisfied when there was no tell-tale bulge, and disillusioned himself and his broom. Sighing again, he rose up into the air, trying to memorise the pattern of the streets. It proved to be rather impossible, especially in the near-dark. It occurred to him that L probably wouldn't have a problem at all, the git.

With yet another sigh, he suddenly had an idea. Rummaging around in his pockets for something suitable, he pulled out two Knuts and grinned. He swooped back down to the roof of the hotel, and wandlessly stuck the two coins on to the outside of one of the corners; the left one goat side up, and the right one with the wizards' head. If he could find a woman with the 'Point Me' spell, he could find his Knuts the same way.

He flew up until the buildings were tiny, absentmindedly activating the Proximity Charm on his broom. Amusingly enough, he'd dealt with an incident a year ago involving two disillusioned broom travellers who had crashed into each other somewhere above the M6, and both had tried to claim a new broom from the other, stating that it was their fault. Harry of course had looked at the red faced Wizard and Witch, and then suggested that since they both needed a new broom, they could go out and buy their own without having to swap them over. The man had argued, saying that his broom had been a superior model. Harry had smiled and said that obviously that hadn't helped in the sky. It had been a rough day, involving lots of paperwork, and any more at that point was extremely unwelcome. In amongst the man's sputtering, Harry had told him he'd see about looking up some sort of proximity charm and asking the Prophet to print a safety article, but that quite frankly the odds of the incident happening in the first place were pretty slim and it was obviously just an accident, and that they should be glad to be alive. They weren't. Unfortunately though, it looked like the Witch and Wizard were enjoying their argument, and Harry had ended up almost shoving them out of the Ministry, pointing out a restaurant in case they argued through dinner. The pair had reminded him slightly of Ron and Hermione when they got started, and he'd been relieved when they had left, still arguing about who had been at fault, and the proper etiquette when flying above motorways on brooms.

True to his word, he'd found a proximity charm and submitted an article to the Prophet under a false name. It hadn't taken him long to catch on to a much more useful application for it though, especially in his position. By tweaking the range of the charm, it had proved to be rather handy for detecting crazy stalkers and rabid reporters.

Five minutes later he checked his direction. He was slightly off. He sighed, and then adjusted his broom accordingly, absently wondering whether or not he was better off back at the office if he was going to be doing this sort of thing on a regular basis. After the amount of time he'd spent in there, he supposed he'd made it his own and had gotten rather used to its comforts.

After looking down at the numerous lights switching on across Tokyo he decided that actually, it was rather nice to be somewhere different for a change, and to leave Harry Potter back in England for a while.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

L stood with his hands in his pockets, lips parted slightly, unmoving. He stared down his new opponent, staring unblinkingly into beady little black eyes that were scrutinising every twitch. This was definitely the most difficult staring contest he'd ever participated in.

True, he had never before entered into a staring contest with a boa constrictor. L thought it was rather unfair on the part of the snake; seeing as how Seth had no eyelids, and had never blinked in his life. L however, was starting to feel that burning sensation that told him that blinking soon really would be a great idea. He ignored it. This was definitely one of those situations where he couldn't afford to miss anything.

He hadn't _meant_ to knock those files off the desk; it's just that they were in the way, and he _had_ to make some space, otherwise his 'post-NPA meeting' sugar cube castle wouldn't be symmetrical. If the desk had that extra foot of workspace that he'd originally ordered, this would not have happened. He'd _told_ Watari that the desk was off somehow, and Watari had told him not to worry about it, that it wasn't important, and that he had plenty of space to work.

Sometimes he almost hated being right. Or perhaps he hated that other people were not as intelligent as he was?

He was fairly sure that Seth was rather irritated, having been rather rudely woken up whilst trying to digest his meal. Unfortunately, he was positive that Seth could not understand Japanese. Or English, Russian, Spanish, French, Italian, Arabic or any of the countless languages he'd armed himself with over the years. No, the one person who could calm it down had left over seventy minutes ago, and he'd been stood there like a waxwork for about twelve of them.

Every time he went to take a step in any direction, Seth would hiss loudly. He'd been allowed to put his hands in his pockets, but there was nothing in there that would make a snake happy. He'd spent the last three minutes contemplating bringing out his phone so that he could call Watari, but even if Watari opened it from the other side, his chances of reaching the door before the snake were slim. Especially since the snake would be able to tell that someone was coming. There was also the fact Watari happened to be across the city on a few errands, and it would take some time for him to get back, even if he called him straight away. Instead of bringing out his phone, he slowly brought out a strawberry lollipop.

Unfortunately Seth didn't like him taking the wrapper off, and the nearest unwrapped source of sugary goodness would require him to take about six steps.

Ten minutes later, L was less worried and more annoyed. He was bored, he had work to do, he wanted his - now cold - tea, he wanted cake, he wanted his laptop, but most of all, he wanted Ryuuki's stupid snake to stop keeping him prisoner! To top it all off, going to the bathroom would require walking past Seth's corner, and he estimated that he had roughly forty-five minutes before he'd have no choice but to fend the thing off with a chair and hope he made it in time, and that was if he managed to stop thinking about needing the bathroom now that the thought had entered his mind.

Seth hissed threateningly as he experimentally raised a foot. L sighed, and made a mental note to acquire an untraceable phone for Ryuuki.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

Ryuuki lazily approached the apartment complex, draped over his broom with his chin resting on his hands. It had taken about an hour to get here, gradually closing in. He'd actually passed this same building at least three times now that he could remember, but this time he knew that this was where he was supposed to be.

He felt rather bad as he started from the bottom of the block and worked his way up each side in a spiral, peering inside people's windows to try and find the woman from the picture. He tried not to take any notice of anything irrelevant, but he couldn't help but notice that these apartments seemed to be for short term accommodation. None of the apartments he peeked into seemed lived in. They were decorated in roughly the same colours, and the only pictures on the walls were scenic ones. Many had suitcases dotted about.

He came to an apartment that was lit by what he recognised as flames, but not having seen any fireplaces in the other apartments had led him to believe that the flickering light was caused by quite a lot of candles. _Perhaps lit as a tribute... _he thought, butunfortunately the curtains were all closed on this apartment, so there was no easy way for him to see inside. Something told him that this was the right place, though. He could faintly hear a woman's voice, and Ryuuki landed on the balcony, careful not to make a sound. Carefully he brought out an Extendable Eye, and stuck it on, closing that eye as the white string snaked through the vent above the window. Sure enough, when he opened his eye, he saw that this was the woman he was supposed to find. She was kneeling in front of a table full of candles, a picture of her late fiancé in front of her as she gently traced his lips with a finger. She was dressed in leather trousers and a black turtleneck, and he could see a leather jacket hung over the back of a chair. He took off the Eye, putting it back in his pocket, ignoring the string as it also wound itself into his pocket.

The Extendable Eye had been in development when Fred had died, and George had finished it on his own. He'd learnt a valuable lesson with the Darkness Powder though, and it wasn't available to the general public.

Ryuuki wandlessly removed the disillusionment on himself, and then stuck his still invisible broom to the underside of the balcony above him. Fixing his clothes slightly, he took a deep breath before knocking on the balcony door. There was silence. Ryuuki furrowed his brow and knocked again.

"Hello, I need to speak to a Miss N, and then I'll leave! I'm not here to harm anyone, I'm not trying to sell her anything, and in fact..."

He trailed off as he noticed the curtain twitch, and saw a gun pointing at him through the window. His eyes widened, and he gulped. He really hated obliviating terrified people. After all, that's what they were when they realised that bullets bounced off you. Then there would have to be explanations for the screaming, and the smashing of things, and it would all get rather messy considering just how many people that could be in a densely populated city like Tokyo.

"Hey! That's really not nice you know. Have you ever heard of the saying, 'Don't shoot the messenger'? Yeah? Well I reckon that had a pretty profound message in there. I'd much prefer not having to shout through the glass though."

The gun was still pointed at him, but a hand appeared, opening the door about two inches.

"How the _hell_ did you get on my balcony?" spat an irritated female voice.

"I'm rather good with heights... Look, I know you don't know me but I'm actually supposed to be here to warn you... By your hospitality, I'm guessing you've already picked up on the fact that you're in a rather dangerous situation."

"Who sent you?" was the harshly whispered reply.

"Well he said he'd worked with you before, and he told me to tell you, 'a mutual acquaintance', but I really don't know how that's supposed to clarify anything-" Ryuuki started, before the gun twitched and he was interrupted. This really wasn't going according to plan.

"A 'mutual acquaintance'? Is that the best you've got? Try again."

"Uhm, he told me to refer to you as 'N'? Uhm... Ah!" He exclaimed, "He gave me something to give you, he said that it would help explain things a bit more."

"Pass it through. No sudden moves."

Ryuuki thought she sounded a little calmer, but since he couldn't see her, he couldn't be too sure. He slowly reached into his pocket, bringing out the brand new phone. He held it up before slowly reaching forwards, sliding the phone through the gap, holding it until he felt it being grabbed from the other side. He waited, nervously eyeing the gun and hoping that the woman didn't sneeze or something.

Suddenly the door slid open, and the barrel of the gun was no longer peeking at him between the curtains. The curtain still obscured the interior.

"Get in and close the door."

Ryuuki cautiously stepped into the apartment, closing the door behind him before fighting with the curtain.

"I would apologise for my rudeness, if it weren't for the fact that no sane person would mistake a balcony for a front door."

"Ah, well," he began, scratching the back of his head and tugging his hair over his scar, "I didn't know which apartment it was..."

"So then you decided it would be much easier to scale the outside, hmmm?"

He looked up to see that she was standing with her arms folded, looking at him as if he were insane. From her point of view it was pretty much the only feasible explanation, so there went a good first impression. He was distracted from staring at her outfit by her startled gasp.

"You- You're- No, you can't be..." she stuttered, staring as if she'd seen a ghost.

"I'm Kinjo Ryuuki... Let me guess, I look like someone you know?"

"Yes, but he's in prison; and you have green eyes instead of red, although they could be contacts."

"Ah, right, the crazy one... Red eyes? Weird. Yeah, I've been told that I have a strong resemblance to a crazy guy before. No relation whatsoever, I assure you. I've never even met the guy," he stated, holding his hands up. "Oh, and my eyes are real," he added.

"So what is it that I'm supposed to 'co-operate' with?"

"Well, I'm really sorry to have to do this and all, with what's happened, but I've been given a couple of rude and insensitive questions to ask you, and a few instructions disguised as requests," said Ryuuki nervously, scratching the back of his head again, pulling his hair over his scar.

"Don't worry about it, I have a theory about who sent you, and I think that my theory is just about to be proven, so no, you go ahead," Naomi stated, looking squarely into his eyes with a stoic expression.

He blinked a few times and tried to ignore the abundance of leather, just in case he was tempted to sneak a glance down. This one looked sharp enough to catch it. She wasn't exactly making it easy though, since it wasn't often that he stumbled across attractive women that wore leather trousers.

"Well, I'm supposed to tell you that you are in danger, but I think we've pretty much covered that. Then I'm supposed to tell you to stay off the radar, and to lay low until a contact from that 'mutual acquaintance' that I mentioned earlier, and I'm to ask if you've given your full name to anyone in the last few weeks. I'm guessing especially since your fiancé was killed."

She stared at him for a few moments.

"I'll make a list of the times that I remember. Are you in a position to take a message back?" she asked.

"I suppose it would depend what kind of message you have in mind," he replied carefully. "For example, if you wanted me to pass on a punch in the face, I'd have to decline."

"Paper it is then," stated Misora, giving him a strange look before tearing a sheet from a notepad.

He looked around the apartment as he waited for Misora to finish penning her note, and saw a motorbike helmet along with some boots. That explained the leather, at least...

"There," she said, handing him a folded up piece of paper. "I'm assuming he'll call me with details. You're not the usual delivery guy, but you sure know how to make an entrance. I have no idea how you found me, so I'll be moving, but I'll do as he says and lay low for now; although if I don't hear anything soon, I can't guarantee that I'll sit still." She glanced at the picture of her fiancé, and a look of sadness overcame her features.

"Understandable. It's hard to sit and wait when you feel there's something to be done, but it pays to wait for the right time. Did he say anything to you before...?" Ryuuki asked awkwardly, gesturing to the picture. Misora glanced at the note before answering.

"We both knew to keep our work separate. He did mention a crazy hijacker though," she said seriously.

"I think I know the man you're talking about... unfortunately it seems that he was killed by a car, so he couldn't be taken for questioning," he replied, letting her know that the incident had been noted. She seemed to sigh in relief. "Do you know if your fiancé told anyone his name that day?"

"Actually, when I asked him about it, he told me he showed one of the passengers his ID. After he died, I was positive that it was no accident."

Ryuuki instantly became serious.

"Did he mention who? Even a description would be helpful."

"No, he didn't say. I meant to ask but..." her face almost crumpled, but with the ease of a trained professional, her features smoothed and she continued. "I just knew something felt wrong about the whole situation. After he died, I couldn't stop thinking about it, and then I found out that a criminal had been stabbed to death at a convenience store the same night as the bus-jacking... It's not just heart attacks, I know it. He used my fiancé somehow, to get the other names, before killing him." Misora's voice lowered to a whisper. "I'm sure that he must have been on the bus that day. He could have planned the whole thing, staged the event and then done something to force my fiancé to show his ID."

Certain pieces of the puzzle clicked into place for Ryuuki, and this woman's quick thinking made him see why L had sent him here. L wouldn't want to put her in danger by sending a Task Force member, and potentially alerting Kira that she could possibly have some information; Watari was constantly going out to goodness knows where, doing goodness knows what; which would only leave L himself, if Ryuuki hadn't been there, and the thought of that one leaving his sanctuary and navigating the masses to play hero was almost laughable. It was entirely possible that if Ryuuki hadn't been there, then L would have no choice but to hope that if Misora had information, then she would come forward on her own.

"Out of interest, what were you planning to do?" he asked curiously.

"Call the Task Force and arrange a meeting," she replied, as if it were obvious.

"Ah, then it is a _really_ good thing he sent me here first. You see, there is a rather large possibility of the murdering fiend being related to the Task Force somehow, so it's best if you didn't go in there just in case. I'm guessing that little phone isn't just for decoration, so he'll probably call you soon. You should be alright, as long as you avoid the NPA." Misora was wide eyed at this information.

"Thank you for telling me this, and for the phone. I'm sorry to load you with my burdens; it's just been a tough time. I hope you understand."

"Hey! Don't worry about it, because I'm not. I'm guessing you've barely spoken to anyone since it happened. My word of advice is to go and stay with family or a close friend; they're probably really worried about you. Keep that little phone close by... in fact, I'll do one better. I know you've already got someone looking out for you, but if you are ever in a tight spot, or you need somewhere to go, here's my number." Ryuuki pulled a scrap of parchment out of his pocket, along with a pen, and scribbled down his private number. He'd have to swing by his apartment to collect his mobile phone, but he doubted that L would be expecting him back any time soon.

"You don't have to, I should be alright..." Misora said unsurely.

"Yes, but if you're _not_ alright at some point, you'll have a rather useful person to contact. That applies anywhere in the world, by the way. He wouldn't send just anyone here, you know." Ryuuki grinned cheekily. Misora gave him a faint smile, tinged with confusion. She jumped slightly as Ryuuki clapped his hands together.

"Right, well I'm really sorry for intruding like this, and thank you very much for not shooting me. That really would have given me a headache." Ryuuki said wryly, before bowing. This made Misora pause slightly, not accustomed to hearing people refer to the possibility of being shot so casually, even in her line of work.

"So will you be using the front door this time?" Misora asked with a touch of sarcasm.

"Actually no, I'm fine with the balcony, but I'd be grateful if you didn't give me away by curtain twitching. At least give me a few minutes before you satisfy your curiosity. Take care, and hang on to that phone and the number I gave you."

Misora stared back incredulously, and watched in disbelief as 'Kinjo Ryuuki' waved before stepping out onto the balcony, closing the curtain and the door behind him. Barely a minute later she grew impatient, and she stepped out onto the balcony after him, half expecting the strange man to jump out and say, 'Boo! Just kidding, can I use the door?'

However, there was no sign of him. She ran to the edge of the balcony, hoping to see a moving shadow that would give him away, but she saw nothing.

Little did she know - he'd been gone from sight before the curtains had ceased their movement.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

Watari drove sedately through the streets of Tokyo as he made his way back across the city to the hotel. He was contemplating the recent events, and in particular the stray Wizard that he and his charge had unexpectedly encountered. Not for the first time, Watari regretted that all of this had happened so late in his life. He knew that in a few years, he'd be too old for this job, and the thought of leaving L to his own devices was ludicrous. Unfortunately, the boy had refused to trust anyone but him, resulting in near-isolation since childhood. He tended to see other people as objects, and very quickly slotted them into a neat category in his mind, to be brought out when they were of use. It sounded rather heartless when put bluntly, and most people would tend to leave it at that.

However, Watari wasn't most people. He'd known L for long enough to know better, and he knew enough about gifted children to know that their thought processes weren't like the average persons. It took a lot of effort, but over the years he'd learned to read his ward rather well, and he was glad to see it finally happen. Finally, someone – not a criminal! – had grabbed L's attention, dragging him out of his apathy.

He was well aware that a lot of L's behaviour really was natural to him, but certain social aspects were at first a defensive act, which then became habit, which then evolved into the persona of 'L the Detective'.

When L had been much younger, it had been slightly easier to force him out to socialise on special occasions; but he'd inevitably slip away to his room unseen, the other children not even noticing that he was there to begin with. The few children that he did come into contact with had only teased him for his strange habits, making the problem worse. Now that L was an adult, the only ties the young man had allowed were himself, Roger, and three teenage boys back at Wammy's. He'd never had anyone his own age around, but that had all changed since Ryuuki had come along. L had been bordering on obsessive since that young man had appeared, and Watari had at first been concerned that L would drive the young man insane, but Ryuuki had proved to be more resilient than his initial appearance would indicate. In fact, it might actually drive _L_ insane to have him around.

Either way, he'd failed to teach L to socialise at Wammy's, and every clever child he'd talked about with L since him leaving Wammy's had failed to grasp his interest. The top three teens currently studying there interested him, but only as candidates to inherit his title when he died, nothing more. Here was an emotionally damaged young man that had grabbed L's attention, who was only a year younger, and who had the presence of mind to see through L's little mind games and not only that, but to initiate a few of his own. In other words, Harry Potter, or 'Kinjo Ryuuki' as he was calling himself, was a challenge. More to the point, he was a _friendly_ challenge, on equal grounds, which was something that L had had virtually no experience with. From what he could see, Ryuuki was the protective sort, who would only resort to violence when someone was in danger. Yes, he was mischievous, but he meant no harm by it.

It had only been a couple of days and even with being snatched from a car park, Watari was positive that if L was in danger, then Ryuuki would do everything in his power to keep him safe. It was unusual to see in a person, but then if his relatives had truly hated him when he was younger, then it would be vaguely possible that he would easily form connections with others that treated him with even an ounce of kindness, but for the scarred man to still have that certain... innocence, even after everything that had happened to him; it seemed almost ridiculously impossible. Although, if he was strong willed and stubborn enough, he supposed it was possible... highly unlikely, but possible.

If that were the case, then where L had adjusted by constantly looking for the worst in people, trusting nobody and refusing to allow contact for fear of rejection – not that L viewed it that way, of course – Ryuuki had adjusted by looking for the best in people, and from what he could gather, seemed to have found a group of pleasant people that he viewed as his family. There was safety in numbers, after all, and it was harder to defeat a group than it was to attack an individual.

Having almost given up hope that L would find someone he could call a friend, Watari was more than willing to stir the pot.

He couldn't be certain about Ryuuki, but L had definitely not had any experience in a kitchen, so whatever would happen when he came back with a bag of ingredients but no cake, was sure to be amusing.

Setting up a hidden camera in the rather basic kitchen in L's suite would be a priority, along with a few strategically placed wires for audio.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

Ryuuki landed on the balcony outside of his Ministry apartment, still disillusioned, and quickly let himself in, looking around cautiously. Nothing appeared to have been moved, and he was further reassured when a security spell he'd previously set up showed that nobody had been snooping, muggle or magical.

He much preferred his set-up over L's. Yes, all those monitors looked really impressive, but it didn't beat his equipment by a long shot. True, if a muggle happened to be in the same room as him when he was using it, the 'advanced technology' would astound them, but without his magical signature, it all just looked like a top-of-the-range muggle machine, with the normal peripherals. Let's just say that the Technology department had been rather busy in the last few years, learning about the muggle scientific advances, and tweaking certain muggle devices to make them more... magic friendly. For the first year, three 'Blast Chambers' in the Experimental Charms department had been in almost constant use, as Witches and Wizards strived to find a way to stop televisions, computers, radios, and even electronic toys from exploding when in contact with certain magics, and yet tweak them to suit their purposes. Minister Weasley was ecstatic, and gladly oversaw everything to make sure that charms were placed on everything to prevent muggles from touching modified items before they were cleared. Chip boards however, had remained a problem, as they were so fragile, and the general population understood very little about them.

There was even one guy who took in a brand new shrunken Ford Mondeo, who was severely injured when he tried to modify his car and started it, to find that the 'delicate' electronics exploded in his face when he turned the key. The Ministry had always magically refurbished older scrap cars that had no need for electronics, and had applied a glamour for whichever model and colour the car needed to be that day.

Naturally, it was Hermione who had managed to eventually create a very advanced ward that would shield the electronics, whilst still allowing magic to be applied, something absurdly clever about being in a different 'phase'. She'd tried to explain it to him and Ron, but had given up in frustration, settling for Percy who was now managing his own Tech team.

Ryuuki smirked slightly as he imagined L's face when witnessing _these_ computers. Thanks to the richest muggleborn Witch in the world, Ryuuki had no problems with acquiring any technology he needed.

Packing up his equipment, he practically emptied the flat before flying to the NPA building, where he planned to retrieve his car. He was sure that L wouldn't mind, considering that it would be suspicious if left there any longer. Plus there was the slight issue of Ryuuki being the only one capable of driving it.

One of the reasons why the Ministry car was so important was that it was one of the first of the new fleet of Magical Hybrids to be produced by the Japanese Ministry, based on research by the British Ministry since the invention of 'Granger Shielding'. Push the magic button, and the car would feel and respond better than his Firebolt. He could literally pull up parallel to a parking space, and 'hop' sideways if he wanted to. He seriously wanted to keep his car. Apparently it also had _amazing_ security features that he hadn't had a chance to test since arriving in Tokyo, much to his disappointment. It was so advanced, that the handbook was a foot thick (he'd actually gone pale when he first saw it, and had struggled to smile back at the grinning Japanese Techies), and the car even had a unique codename, 'Morpheus'.

It seemed that the Techies involved in its creation liked 'The Matrix' and 'Star Wars' as much as he did, and it had been a choice between Morpheus, Trinity and Yoda. These cars were specially made for important Japanese officials and VIPs, so it hadn't been too difficult for him to borrow one. One of the advantages of being Harry Potter, even if he had to have his wand registered with the Japanese Ministry. He'd heard rumours of these cars being produced for years, and the chance to actually drive one simply couldn't be passed up; he'd be kicking himself for years! Now if they'd just let him _buy_ Morpheus... It wasn't as if money would be a problem, and he could blame his muggle training group for introducing him to the world of supercars.

The car was exactly where he'd left it, and he landed in an alleyway close by, negating any security cameras before making himself visible. He casually walked to his car, his disillusioned broom floating behind him, and a twinkle in his eye that spelled trouble.

Soon he was racing across Tokyo towards the hotel, rock music blaring from the speakers, his license plates magically obscured, and a rather big grin on his face.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

L was completely fed up. Seth was still barely allowing him to scratch his nose, Watari was completing a few tasks he'd been given and still wasn't due back yet, and Ryuuki had been gone for almost two and a half hours, too soon for him to have found Misora if she was in hiding like he suspected she was.

He needed the bathroom, he needed sugar, he needed coffee, and he needed it all an hour ago. He could feel himself getting more and more tired the longer he stood there, and he certainly hadn't been this infuriated in a long time. He hated being trapped, he hated being stared at, but most of all he hated feeling helpless. That last one tended to bring out his more aggressive side.

L took a bold step towards his sweet stash. Seth gave a long hiss.

Instead of immediately stepping back to where he started and glaring at Seth, he growled back, loudly. Seth tilted his head, having stopped hissing, obviously not expecting this situation. Honestly enough, an week ago L would have called himself crazy if he imagined himself growling at a snake any time in the near future, but at that moment he couldn't care less.

When Ryuuki came back, he would be fixing things so that this didn't ever happen again, even if he had to take the snake to Brazil. Until then, he'd show this snake _exactly_ who was paying the rent on this suite.

Another step; and the hissing began again, louder than before. L growled back, glaring and refusing to back down. _Nothing_ got between him and his sweets, especially not an uppity Boa that hadn't even finished digesting its food. In fact, that was a good point...

L could have slapped himself silly. Seth had gone to sleep with Ryuuki present, and been woken by a loud noise to find him gone. Seth would be rather uncomfortable moving quickly with a half digested rat creating a noticeable bulge, and would probably only attack if threatened. It was obvious that L wasn't going to attack, so maybe a grumpy Seth just wanted to know where Ryuuki was?

"Ryuuki."

Seth froze. It seemed that he recognised Ryuuki's alias, at least.

"Ryuuki," he stated, pointing outside. Seth looked at his outstretched hand, before returning his gaze to L's face, hissing animatedly, not that L had a clue what any of it meant.

"I'll... go get him..." L moved carefully towards the door, slowing as the tone of the hissing changed.

"Ryuuki," he said, sneaking towards the door, making Seth stop his hissing. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, L dashed across the room, flinging the door open before slamming it shut behind him. He leaned against the wall, catching his breath slightly, glad that the siege was over. Rubbing his face with his hands, L bounced himself off the wall with his backside, and made his way to the guest bathroom, shuffling a lot faster than usual, and lamenting the loss of his sweets. There was no way he was going back in there until Ryuuki came back, and anyone who called the other lines would just have to wait. He hoped that Ryuuki returned before Watari called, or that Watari phoned his mobile, otherwise things could get rather messy. Hopefully there would also be a few boxes of cookies left in the kitchen, which was accessible through another door, since he'd been forced to abandon his stash.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

Ryuuki encouraged one last roar from the engine as he nosed Morpheus – as he now referred to the car in his mind – into the underground car park below the hotel. He'd taken twice as long as he should have to get there, having seen a road that he simply _had_ to drive down, forcing him to use the 'Point Me' spell to find his Knuts again when he found himself thoroughly lost. No regrets though, Morpheus was an absolute marvel. He found a new gadget every time he drove it. He'd had a slight panic when he'd meant to indicate that he was turning left, but found that he'd flicked the wrong switch, activating some kind of silver plated armour which had started to cover the car before he'd managed to turn it off. He hoped that anyone looking would have seen it as a trick of the light or something. He really should read the handbook, or perhaps he could wave it under L's nose. Surely he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes off it, and then he could tell him the important stuff...

Ryuuki parked the car in a more secluded corner, before stuffing his cloak and broom back into his locket. It struck him as unusual that he'd opened the locket as often as he had, usually it would be months between him needing anything inside. He supposed that with him hiding his mirror in there, and all off the other handy little gadgets, he'd be opening it a lot more. Perhaps it would be wise to keep the mirror elsewhere. He patted the steering wheel affectionately, giving the inside of the car a sad look before sliding out of the driver's seat. He shut the door, hearing the locks slide smoothly into place, and seeing the faint sheen that was evidence of the muggle anti-theft charm. Thinking about it, there had to be instructions in that book that would boost the security if that silver shield thing was anything to go by.

He really should read that handbook he supposed. He walked out of range of the cameras that he'd wandlessly detected, and as soon as he reached the stairwell he cast a wandless notice-me-not charm. It had been a long time since he had used his wandless abilities this extensively, and he had to fight the urge to draw his wand, as was his habit.

His magic however, seemed rather pleased. It practically sang to him. It had started behaving oddly again since coming to Japan, come to think of it. More... frisky. He hoped it wouldn't be as bad as the last time this had happened to him, although this was on a smaller scale... Truthfully, it shouldn't be happening at all. His magic had stopped needing to be drained years ago, so why was it acting up now? What was it trying to tell him? Or was it actually a coincidence this time? Was it even a coincidence before...? He abandoned his train of thought as he approached the suite.

He soundlessly let himself through the first door, before smirking and apparating into the main room, only to be disappointed when there was no L to startle.

_*Amigo! It is good to see you! Your amigo is strange, he wouldn't tell me where you were, and just stood there staring at me every time I asked. I tried everything! I even spoke really slow... in case he's stupid burro, you know? Still, the amigo stands there and stares, like he sleeps on his feet. Stood there longer than any of the little two-legs at that zoo place, that's for sure amigo!*_ Seth sounded very pleased to see him indeed, and Ryuuki smiled, before he heard the part about L. He smiled wider when he heard the part about L being stupid, since he was far from it.

_*He what? Listen Seth, he's not like me. He can't understand you like I can; all he hears is 'ssssssssssssssssss'.* _Seth tilted his head, still staring straight at him.

_*Why did the stupid amigo wake me up then?*_

_*I don't know Seth, but tell me where he went and I'll ask him for you?*_

_*That door.*_ Seth replied, twisting his head so that it pointed at a door that Ryuuki had never seen the need to open. Then he spotted a pile of paperwork on the floor. That wasn't right...

"Hmmm."

Before he had a chance to investigate further, a familiar _crack_ echoed through the room.

"Kreacher? What are you doing here? Has something happened?" he asked in confusion, with a touch of worry. It had to be important if Kreacher had come to find him.

Unnoticed by Wizard or elf, the second and loudest of the two cracks had convinced L of the need to check that his precious technology was undamaged, and he had abandoned his box of cookies in favour of silently opening the door to peer through the crack. He paused at seeing Ryuuki talking to a... creature, apparently, if what Ryuuki had said was correct. Forgetting the snake for a moment, and completely focussed on this creature, he unthinkingly asked the first thing that came to mind.

"Ryuuki... How did that gnome get in here?"

"_Gnome_? _Gnome_? Disgusting, vile, muggle _filth_ that you are, calling Kreacher a _gnome_? I'll show you a gnome, Muggle scum!" Kreacher raised his hand, and L's eyes widened as he saw that the creature was going to snap its fingers. He had no desire whatsoever to find out what the effects of that would be, having no knowledge of what it was capable of doing, and he prepared to dash back into the kitchenette, slam the door, eat cookies, and hope for the best.

"KREACHER! STOP THAT THIS INSTANT!" Ryuuki bellowed, shocking both elf and detective, who both froze. Ryuuki had to resist the urge to laugh; Kreacher with his fingers poised, moments from whatever it was that he has about to do, and L, half turned in the doorway, staring at back at him with wide eyes, one leg still raised in the air and both hands on the edge of the door as if to slam it shut.

L slowly placed both feet on the floor, bringing his hands to his pockets and staring blankly at the creature. Kreacher grimaced in distaste before lowering his hand and attempting to ignore the muggle completely.

"Headmistress McGonagall is sending Kreacher to find Master Harry, awfully worried she was," said Kreacher vaguely, avoiding eye contact and staring in disgust at the mess of dishes left scattered around the room by L.

"Come on now Kreacher, don't be so difficult. He doesn't know about house-elves, he didn't mean to insult you, and I'm sure he knows by now that you're _definitely_ not a gnome. What did she say?" Ryuuki asked, eyeing Kreacher reproachfully, silently warning the elf to behave, and hoping that it would be enough.

"Not for filthy muggle ears... _vermin_" spat Kreacher, turning and glaring hatefully at L, reminding Ryuuki of his previous behaviour before the destruction of the locket horcrux.

"KREACHER! Hold your spiteful tongue!" Ryuuki roared, glaring angrily at the elf, who shrank back from him slightly.

"Kreacher apologises Master Harry, and Kreacher will 'hold his spiteful tongue', just as Master Harry tells him," the elf stated before opening his mouth, and literally grabbing his tongue with spindly little fingers. Ryuuki pinched the bridge of his nose between forefinger and thumb, and sighed deeply.

"You know I hate ordering you, so for your own sake behave yourself! You know exactly what I meant. If I were a Black, you'd have clothes for treating a business associate in that manner, no matter your opinions on it! On the Isle I will accept and give you the right to your own opinions, otherwise remember your manners!" The elf sagged, before speaking in a more refined tone.

"Headmistress McGonagall be saying Master Harry is requested to deal with the Forbidden Forest, as the residents have been 'stirring up all sorts of mischief'. Firenze has also requested to meet with Master Harry and to bring 'Him', but Headmistress McGonagall be saying that Firenze would be saying no more on who 'Him' was, except that Master Harry would be knowing. She be saying she be expecting Master Harry plus guest at his earliest convenience."

Ryuuki smiled gently at the elf.

"Thank you Kreacher, for the message and your efforts. I know that this is difficult for you, and I appreciate it. I must ask you to refer to me as 'Ryuuki' from now on when we are in Japan, as I have a part to play." Kreacher stared at him for a long minute before giving a small smile.

"Would Master Ha-Ryuuki be needing anything?"

"Actually... one of your roast dinners would be fantastic Kreacher. Don't worry, just the one serving. L only eats cakes." Kreacher looked relieved at this. "Also, bring me my Portable Lab. I decided to leave it last time, but I'll need a few potions. Bring me a spoon too," he added. Kreacher smiled and nodded eagerly before disappearing with a loud _crack_.

L stared at Ryuuki, waiting for an explanation. Ryuuki stared intensely into the distance and sighed.

"L... I apologise, but cancel any and all plans you have for the next few days. We're going to Hogwarts." Ryuuki's voice was filled with a strange authority that L had never heard from him before, and it was shocking as much as it was strange.

"You can't just expect me to-" he started incredulously before he was rudely interrupted.

"Yes I can, and yes I do. Go and pick up one of those books-" he pointed to the stack, "-and look up Centaurs. Firenze was talking about _you_. Pack for a few days. I'll give you a robe and your face can easily be obscured at all times, but be aware that in a school full of children, this will only make them more curious."

"But how..." he trailed off, deciding not to mention the interruption and noting the raised eyebrows, not a smirk or smile in sight. L stared at this person. No longer Kinjo Ryuuki, but Harry Potter. Even though his features were those of Kinjo Ryuuki and by chance himself; his stance, the way he _wore_ those features, was all Harry Potter, and L saw a glimpse of the man who had led his people to victory.

"The book, right?" said L, blandly, before shuffling towards the table, ignoring the mutters in the back of his mind and feeling very... small. If he was going to argue, he was going to make damn sure he knew what he was talking about. It had nothing whatsoever to do with being intimidated, and wanting to wait a while before approaching the other.

Nothing.

A tiny voice in the back of his mind muttered, _you're a terrible liar, L Lawliet. _

Grabbing the correct book, L ignored Ryuuki as he crouched on his chair, pulling more sweets toward himself than usual, and cramming a small chocolate truffle into his mouth before he even opened the book.

He had a choice to make. Should he go to Hogwarts? What about Kira? The Task Force? The tapes...

He rapidly flicked to the section about Centaurs.

What would _Watari_ say to all of this?

As if in reply to his thoughts, his phone suddenly started ringing.

**A/N:** Hello again, here's the next bit! Let me know what you think!

Oh and I have a query! I've written up the next chapter but it's around 11,650 words before editing... should I split it into two smaller chapters, or should I just post it all at once when the time comes? For a reference, this one is 9338 including this note.

Many many thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, it's great that people are following my progress on this weird but strangely addictive adventure! Also thanks to the people who have added this to their favourites or alerts lists! I'm truly amazed how many of you there are!

:-)


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

When Watari returned to the hotel suite where L and Ryuuki were staying, he paused just outside the door as he heard the sound of raised voices; or more to the point, one raised voice in particular, and he couldn't help but sigh as he wondered what they were arguing about this time. He quietly let himself in, careful not to alert the two. From the sounds of things, he wouldn't need that camera in the kitchen after all.

"Are you even on the same page here? We are talking about a _magical_ _castle_, a once in a _lifetime_ opportunity for a muggle-"

Both were standing in the middle of the room facing each other, and were far too involved with each other to notice his arrival. Ryuuki was waving his arms around and sounded rather incredulous, so L had been invited to this castle? Why could he smell roast dinner...?

"I refuse to believe that a being that lives in a forest half way across the planet could have information relating to Kira! It's implausible! There is enough to do as it is, without-"

"-L, they can read the _stars_! We're not talking about reading a stupid horoscope column here! What's more-"

"-If you would let a person finish their sentences-"

"-Look who's talking! Don't you find it slightly hypocritical-"

"-That's it! I'm not going!"

There was a pause, and they both glared at the other. Watari saw a roast dinner steaming away on the table, so at least that explained the smell, but what was that rectangular thing... was that a _door? _Why on earth would someone have a door frame, a door, and yet no wall? If he was a gambling man, he'd be placing bets on it having something to do with Ryuuki, especially since it looked like a door that wouldn't be out of place in a medieval setting.

"What do you mean, _you're_ _not_ _going_? You _have_ to go! I've got no hope in hell of understanding a word from his mouth, and you're meant to be good at that sort of thing! You like cryptic stuff, right? It's your job!"

"This not a matter of whether or not I like solving puzzles and mysteries, but more a matter of it being rather inconvenient at this particular moment, since certain events are in motion which should all come into alignment soon-"

"-See! You're talking like a centaur already!"

"WILL YOU STOP INTERRUPTING ME?"

Watari stared in fascination, eyes wide open for once. Ryuuki looked to be rather shocked himself, but that was nothing to how L looked. If Watari had to describe the expressions on his face, he'd have to start with 'stunned' and 'lost'. L turned on his heel and slouched stiffly towards the bedroom, looking rather pale in the brief glimpse that Watari caught. Strangely enough L seemed to operate exactly the opposite of mostly everyone else on the planet, and tended to go rather pale when embarrassed.

"Uhm, sorry?" said Ryuuki, quietly.

L ignored him and continued into the bedroom, slamming the door.

"Give him time. It is a lot for anyone to process, and he tends to process things more than most."

Ryuuki whirled around and relaxed when he saw that it was only Watari.

"I didn't see you there. You can be really quiet, huh..." said Ryuuki, with a small smile. He sat down and fiddled with his hands. Watari nodded.

"Like I said, give him time. He is also rather unused to having company. I shall go and speak to him," said Watari, kindly.

"Can you tell him that I didn't mean to offend him?"

"Of course." Watari bowed slightly, before crossing the room and letting himself into the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him.

"Watari."

L was lying on his back on the bed, which was rather unusual for him; his knees were bent and his feet lay flat on the sheets, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

"I wasn't sure if you were aware that I had arrived, you seemed rather involved..." He trailed off, glancing at the young man's face, disappointed when he found nothing but the usual vacant expression.

"...I was aware."

There was silence for a few minutes, and Watari took a seat on the edge of the bed, knowing that L would speak when he was ready. Either that, or he would bring out a laptop from somewhere and ignore him, but he had a feeling that it would be the former today. Sure enough, it wasn't long before L began to speak.

"Watari... Why did I do that? I know better. I have stood and brushed aside other people's words as if they were nothing, and I have walked away from people far more infuriating than him in the past; and yet I have never felt the need to raise my voice to them."

Watari sighed. Yes, it was his own fault, he supposed. This whole Kira business was bad enough, without having to teach a reclusive genius what friendship means. Truthfully, he didn't really want to answer L's question, not knowing whether or not the detective would be ready for what he had to say, or even if he would understand it. He had to say _something_ though.

"He asked me to tell you that he didn't mean to offend you. If I may say ... Perhaps that is just the way he and his friends... communicate." There. A _small_ hint that hopefully might set him on the right path...

"It is frustrating. How can I discuss things seriously if he will not listen to what I have to say? He wants me to go with him to a magical castle, to speak to a _centaur_, and he tells me that we will be using a _spoon_ to get there. He has a house-elf who thinks I'm vile and disgusting, a snake who doesn't think much better of me, and he expects me to drop everything here and follow him to a forest... I can't. I do not have the time. I will admit that I am... intrigued to say the least. I have seen proof with my own eyes that magic is real, and the thought of a whole different world, hidden alongside our own... Ordinarily I would grasp every opportunity to learn more. At this present time though... I have a duty, and it is here." If his lips hadn't been moving slightly, Watari would not have been able to tell that it was L speaking.

"I understand completely L. I truly do not think that the young man was seeking to offend you. He seemed genuinely surprised that you wouldn't be jumping at the chance to go, from what I saw." L was silent, and Watari couldn't even begin to guess at what his ward was thinking. The two sat in a comfortable silence, Watari knowing that L would speak when he was ready.

"Perhaps that was the issue, Watari. Ordinarily I would, but I feel the need to stay here. There is an eighty-two percent probability of Yagami-san making the announcement tomorrow, and I must be present otherwise I will lose my chance to convince them to trust me."

"I see." Watari nodded his understanding, "In that case, perhaps if we all sit down and talk things through, we can find a solution. Perhaps we can convince him to wait a couple of days until things calm down. It is rather unfair to expect you to take all of this in without there being a few issues, and I'm sure that he will understand."

Watari waited patiently for the reply, and when it eventually came, it definitely wasn't the reply that he had expected.

"I shouted. I lost control." It was said quietly and with no emotion. Nevertheless, Watari was surprised that it had been said at all. L's almost inhuman ability to be completely calm and rational in any situation was something that the detective took great pride in, and it really was amazing, if not slightly disturbing in many ways. There were a few situations where he'd almost been sick himself, even with his decades of experience, and yet L would act as if it were nothing. Good for his line of work, but terrible for his development as a properly functioning adult.

To admit out loud that that there had been a loss of control was different from what he had come to expect. Watari would have guessed that L would pass it off as acting, or that he'd create a simple lie to cover it up, and that as usual he would nod and smile, knowing better and yet knowing not to press the issue. Cake would be requested, and L would literally chew his way through his thoughts, working through any issues on his own. Any unwanted interference from Watari was simply and effortlessly ignored, and it always turned out that L was right. He had an uncanny knack of doing completely the wrong thing, and yet it ending up being exactly the right thing to do.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing, you know. Everyone has their limits, including yourself."

"My limits with him are different."

That was the crux of the matter, and here is where things would get difficult.

"What do you think of our Wizard friend?" Watari inquired, expecting a simple answer. The reply truly threw him off balance.

"Irritating, strange, idealistic, contradictory, unpredictable, and yet intriguing. Untouched and untouchable. On the outside he is scarred but I think that on the inside there is a person that nobody has seen, and that he protects with many layers. There is a book that you should read, Watari. That is no ordinary person out there. I tell the world that I am justice, and yet I could not have done what he has done." L turned and looked him in the eye for the first time since he entered the room. "I have read an entire book on his life; I know his age, his friends, his accomplishments, what he excelled at in school, and yet it's as if I know nothing of him. I will say that he wasn't sure about telling you this, but his people are recovering from a war. It is rather frightening thinking of people with such powers, battling against each other to the death, but that was the situation, and that man... you will have to read the book Watari. He doesn't know you like I do, and I know that you will see things as I did, and read between the lines." L turned his head slightly, staring back up at the ceiling pensively, before continuing.

"I have no magic of my own, I know nothing of his world, and all I have done is restrict him, suspect him, and hinder his own efforts, to the point where I was willing to have him confined rather than risk that he would discover something else, and pass it on to someone with less honourable intentions. I am wondering whether or not I am rather out of my depth. If he had done that to me, and I could retaliate with magic, I think I would have done more than make his tea disappear, and yes I would probably waste no time in voicing my displeasure. I can't really fault him..."

"You did what you had to do. If he _had_ been a threat, it would be a different story. From what you have said, and from what I have seen, he is a reasonable young man who understands our situation completely, and who doesn't hold any of that against you."

"I agree. For some reason though, my mind will not let me rest."

"When was the last time you slept for more than three hours?"

"..."

"I see."

"I know, Watari." L continued to stare blankly at the ceiling. "There is so much information to think about, and I simply do not have the time."

"That is not the only reason. Can you at least say that it has been less than two weeks?"

L's eyes instantly found Watari's, and his gaze was as sharp as a blade.

Clearly this topic was closed.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

As soon as the bedroom door had closed behind Watari, Ryuuki had been itching to bring out his Extendable Ear and listen in on the conversation, but he had refrained. He sat with one elbow resting on a knee, and his chin resting on his hand. His other leg bounced rapidly, and his eyes continually darted towards the door, and away again. Finally, he stood up and walked over to his Portable Lab, sticking it to a wall and opening the door.

Where there had been a blank outside wall with just enough space between two windows for the Portable Lab to fit without having to shrink it, there was now a doorway leading to a fully stocked Potions laboratory. Walking inside, he selected a few potions that he would likely need; Magic Replenisher, Pepper-Up, Stomach Settler, Headache Draught, and a few others in case things didn't go to plan.

He assumed that the forest residents that were giving the Headmistress the most trouble were the Acromantula. Since the death of Aragog, his eldest children had fought amongst themselves before splitting into smaller nests, meaning that the Aurors had been called on several occasions to 'convince' the giant spiders to keep well away from the school when their fights over territory would get out of hand. The last he had seen or heard, there was a massive section of forest that even Hagrid wouldn't dare go near because of the giant spiders, and a sizeable chunk of forest was now practically deserted, except for the occasional _click_ _click_ of an acromantula's pincers. Most animals had moved far away from the castle, with very few moving closer, hoping for protection.

Suddenly he had a fantastic idea, which so brilliantly happened to coincide with recent events, that it couldn't possibly go wrong. For once, he did not curse fate.

Unfortunately that was only the beginning, and he had many more problems to solve. If only there was a simple way to find out what L's problem was, without all the flowery words! Glaring through the open doorway at the closed door across the room, he growled to himself before roughly digging in his pocket, and bringing out his Extendable Ear.

"Probably just talking about technical stuff..." he reasoned quietly to himself as he watched the flesh coloured string creep just far enough under the door so that voices would be heard. Unfortunately it seemed that L and Watari were just sitting in silence, and Ryuuki tried to remember whether or not he had perhaps forgotten to take down a previous charm. Just as he was about to call himself a prat and rip the thing out, he clearly heard L's voice, and he paused with his hand inches away from his ear to listen more carefully.

"_Perhaps that was the issue, Watari. Ordinarily I would, but I feel the need to stay here. There is an eighty-two percent probability of Yagami-san making some sort of announcement tomorrow, and I must be present otherwise I will lose my chance to convince them to trust me."_

Ah, he suspected that things would kick off at the NPA tomorrow. That would explain things slightly. Luckily there was such a thing as magic. If it happened tomorrow, then that would actually fit quite nicely...

"_I see. In that case, perhaps if we all sit down and talk things through, we can find a solution. Perhaps we can convince him to wait a couple of days until things calm down. It is rather unfair to expect you to take all of this in without there being a few issues, and I'm sure that he will understand." _

Fair enough, old man. After all, he had just sort of shattered any thought processes that happened to involve the laws of physics. When he was eleven, he was just glad to be away from the Dursleys and therefore he had wholeheartedly embraced the idea of magic, just because it was his ticket out of there every summer. L however, had probably grown up surrounded by periodic tables and scientific theories, and had been rather comfortably entrenched. Yes, he may act like a spoilt brat, but the man was far from it, and his childish enthusiasm for sweets and cakes was an insanely effective distraction. Yes, he'd probably knocked him clean off his perch, if not out of the tree altogether. He could be questioning the meaning of life at that very moment.

Perhaps it hadn't been the best idea to tell these particular muggles. Perhaps Arthur was right after all, and he'd constantly need to keep watch. He hadn't really considered the mental ramifications on a purely logical person like L. For all he knew, this revelation could affect the rest of the man's life, especially with being a detective. What if he started seeing magic where there was none, with no way to tell for sure? He was already paranoid enough to shut himself away to the extent that the NPA was under the impression that they were dealing with a well refined, middle aged gentleman.

Wouldn't they get a shock when they encountered the scruffy, shuffling, cake-eating, thumb sucking, bare-footed, wide-eyed walking corpse? The guy looked like a rogue inferi that was trying to fit in with normal society, and even then he wasn't trying very hard.

It was quintessentially L.

"_I shouted. I lost control." _

Yes, it happens. People get grumpy or fed up, and have a nice shout about it. No major breakthroughs there. Didn't see it coming, but still.

"_It's not necessarily a bad thing, you know. Everyone has their limits, including yourself."_

Really? His overall impression so far was that L would do anything to solve a case.

"_My limits with him are different."_

Really...?

"_What do you think of our Wizard friend?" _

Great. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear this, but his curiosity being what it was, he doubted he'd convince his hand to remove the Ear anytime soon.

"_Irritating, strange, idealistic, contradictory, unpredictable, and yet intriguing. Untouched and untouchable. On the outside he is scarred but I think that on the inside there is a person that nobody has seen, and that he protects with many layers. There is a book that you should read, Watari. That is no ordinary person out there. I tell the world that I am justice; and yet I could not have done what he has done. I have read an entire book on his life; I know his age, his friends, his accomplishments, what he excelled at in school, and yet it's as if I know nothing of him. I will say that he wasn't sure about telling you this, but his people are recovering from a war. It is rather frightening thinking of people with such powers, battling against each other to the death, but that was the situation, and that man... you will have to read the book Watari. He doesn't know you like I do, and I know that you will see things as I did, and read between the lines."_

Well, it could have been worse, but it was disturbing that L knew that much as it was. He didn't really mind Watari knowing either, since he was a genuinely nice man. L thought that he didn't know him? For someone that doesn't know him very well, enough of L's words hit close enough to home to force an uneasy blush upon his cheeks.

L's voice continued to sound in his ear, and he knew he shouldn't be listening, but he still didn't really think that this would be a good place to stop. Quite frankly, if he could convince L to leave for just one day he could get New Year, the Weasley dinner that L and Watari had been invited to and the acromantula problem dealt with fairly quickly, with perhaps enough time for a tour of the castle before the New Year feast. They could both be completely hidden in shadowed cloaks that would hide their features, let the students believe that they were Unspeakables... It would all fall in to place so nicely...

Firenze said to bring 'Him'. The only 'Him' it could be was L, and Ryuuki was certain that without L's presence, anything that came out of the centaur's mouth would sail straight over his head. His thoughts were cut short as L continued.

"_I have no magic of my own, I know nothing of his world, and all I have done is restrict him, suspect him, and hinder his own efforts, to the point where I was willing to have him confined rather than risk that he would discover something else, and pass it on to someone with less honourable intentions. I am wondering whether or not I am rather out of my depth. If he had done that to me, and I could retaliate with magic, I think I would have done more than make his tea disappear, and yes I would probably waste no time in voicing my displeasure. I can't really fault him..."_

Ryuuki paused. It was difficult to be annoyed at all now. L had lied when he said he didn't feel bad... He really was a professional liar. He hadn't been looking into L's eyes as it had been said, and so had been unable to tell from just his mannerisms alone. Also, alerting him to the fact that he was occasionally able to block his thoughts from being scanned would not help in that regard.

"_You did what you had to do. If he had been a threat, it would be a different story. From what you have said, and from what I have seen, he is a reasonable young man who understands our situation completely, and who doesn't hold any of that against you."_

Bless that man. What a lovely fellow... although he would have to be careful, since it appeared that he could read people like books, much like L. It was always the quiet ones...

"_I agree. For some reason though, my mind will not let me rest."_

"_When was the last time you slept for more than three hours?"_

That explained the black lines under his eyes, that were even slightly worse than his own; but then at least he had the Dreamless Sleep potion to fall back on, and other energy replenishing potions that got him through the rough days. From what he had heard from the muggle men that he had trained with, muggle medications didn't really do much for severe insomniacs, and it would seem that L fell into this category. However, with Dreamless Sleep, it was guaranteed to work. He'd have to call Hermione to check the correct dosages, or even if it was safe in the first place...

His train of thought paused itself upon hearing Watari's quiet voice.

"_I see."_

"_I know, Watari. There is so much information to think about, and I simply do not have the time."_

"_That is not the only reason. Can you at least say that it has been less than two weeks?"_

Silence.

Merlin... Less than three hours a night for more than two weeks? This was long term? That was... insane. How in Merlin's name could he perch everywhere and not keel over?

"_I shall take my leave. I suggest that you speak to Ryuuki, now that you have both had time to think."_

That was his cue. He quickly recalled the flesh coloured string and stuffed the Ear back into his pocket. Feeling rather strange, and giving the bedroom door surreptitious glances, he shrunk his potions pouch and added it to his pocket. Bringing out his phone, he dialled Hermione and waited for her to answer.

"_Ryuuki! I'm surprised to hear from you! Isn't it rather late over there?"_

Ryuuki had to wandlessly remove the translation charm as he realised that he couldn't understand a word of what Hermione had said.

"Sorry 'Mione I didn't catch that, still had the charm on, but listen! Is Dreamless Sleep safe for a muggle?"

"_Oh, I... Yes, it should be entirely safe for muggles, but Ha-Ryuuki, you really shouldn't!"_

"I know 'Mione, but this guy really needs some sleep, and I can't just..."

Ryuuki began to pace up and down the length of the room, smoothly stepping between different benches in a random pattern.

"_Don't worry, I understand. Give him a sip at first, because everyone reacts differently, and depending on his weight, giving him too little is better than too much. If it doesn't last long enough he can always take another sip. I'd say that because he is a muggle, trial and error would be the best way. His dosage should be nowhere near yours, remember, just one sip at a time until you know the effects!"_

"I know 'Mione, we're looking for a result that involves sleeping rather than being in a coma, so a sip at a time."

"_Do you have a fresh batch there? I'm assuming you have your Lab."_

Stepping up to the correct cupboard, he checked that the potions wouldn't be expiring any time soon.

"Yes, the previous batch is still alright, and I'm fully stocked. I apologise if Kreacher lifted some from your stores, but it's your own fault since you _did_ give him a free pass. I haven't exactly had the time for brewing."

"_Quite frankly it's the only way that I can keep an eye on how much you are taking!"_

"Spying on me for the good of my own health, hmmm?" He said tiredly. Turning to pace to the front of the room, he noticed that Watari was standing in the doorway, looking around the Lab curiously.

"_Would you expect anything less?" _was the fond reply.

"I suppose not... 'Mione I'd better go, I think I have some explaining to do, since I sort of set my Lab up on an outside wall between two windows, and I'm being stared at. Tell Molly and Arthur I'll be round at nine tomorrow evening will you?"

L appeared in the doorway slightly behind Watari, slouched in his regular manner, nibbling his thumb, with his other hand stuffed in his pocket.

"_You should bring-"_

"'Mione, I know, Arthur has already extended an invite, and we shall wait and see. I'm still ironing out the creases. We should meet up earlier, you'll want to see what I have in mind for the acromantula; it's going to be amazing. Of course an old friend has to agree first, but you will seriously not want to miss this. Oh and I suppose Minerva will have to let me into the Chamber-"

"_HA-RYUUKI WHATEVER YOUR GOD DAMNED NAME IS! DON'T YOU _DARE_ GO DOWN THERE AGAIN!"_

All three men winced, even L, although his was a mental wince. He was more focussed on the numerous jars of ingredients, and various pieces of equipment that were dotted around the lab, some of which looked as if they were made from precious metals.

"'Mione I swear it's for a good cause, you know I wouldn't go there unless it was necessary. Anyway, I know you get a kick out of seeing me use my brain, and I really could use the extra wand in case Plan A fails miserably. Anyway! I really must go because I have one person staring at me suspiciously, and the other is trying to – No! L, that used to be sterile! – Yeah, my Lab is no longer safe, so bye! Expect a call later!"

Ryuuki hung up the phone, hoping that she wouldn't call back to give him an earful about hanging up on her.

"So... How's it going? Hi! Welcome to my Portable Potions Lab!" He said, sweeping his arms out grandly. "Don't touch stuff; like I said, a lot of it is sterile, and contaminants make pretty potions go boom. I would not like to lose my eyebrows any time soon." Ryuuki pointed his wand at the tainted utensil, firing a quick sterilising charm at it before levitating it back into its place.

"You sound very different when you speak English, Ryuuki."

Ryuuki was startled; he hadn't even realised that he had still been speaking in English, since it all sounded the same to him, but hearing L speak English without the charm translating it first was very, very strange. He had a mix of all of the different accents, and Ryuuki couldn't even begin to guess where he had lived, for he had to have lived there for a time to speak so fluently, but then again, this was L, so nothing was certain. It was as if he had listened to people from different regions, and picked out his favourite sounds to create an accent that was all his own.

"You sound really different without the translation charm too. Just how many languages do you speak?" Ryuuki asked curiously. He worked as an international detective, so he was guessing he would know a few.

"I... suppose I would say somewhere between ten and fifteen, fluently."

"Merlin's balls... You any good with Latin?"

"I am. After a few languages, you can't help but pick up a working knowledge of Latin."

"I suppose that's true enough. Look, I'm sorry about pushing you before... I guess I've forgotten what it's like when magic is new."

"I must not leave the case unattended."

"I know, and that is not part of the Master Plan."

"Master Plan? Do I even want to ask?"

"Of course you do, although can you step to the side for a moment? I have a roast dinner calling me."

The plate of roast dinner floated through the doorway and landed on the workbench in front of him. He took perverse pleasure in noting that if Hermione ever caught him eating in his potions lab, she would probably kick him out of it before proceeding to bash his skull in with the door.

Next he conjured a large piece of parchment, and summoned his quill and inkwell.

This made L raise his eyebrows.

"I know, I know, it's terribly old fashioned, but when in Rome..."

He wrote, 'The Master Plan' at the top, and underlined it.

"Ryuuki, I am giving no guarantees, but what exactly would be involved in this side trip?" L asked curiously, studying Ryuuki's handwriting, which didn't do the art of calligraphy any justice at all.

"Wait and see... I tell you what; you phone Misora, and then I will start what will probably be a lengthy discussion which will explain why you have nothing to worry about time-wise. We'll have all the time we need in fact. Trust me, I'm a Wizard! I have to talk to Seth too, and convince him to agree to something."

"Ah, yes, I should not leave it much longer..." L frowned slightly and bit his thumbnail. "Did she mention anything of interest?"

"As a matter of fact she did, and it all points towards a certain teenager. It's not looking good for him. Ah, she gave me a note to give you, so here. I haven't looked at it," said Ryuuki, digging around in his pocket for the sheet of muggle paper, and handing it over.

_L,_

_ Just relative to my previous accommodation. R showed ID to passenger, male. Not just HtAt. Inc w/store Dec. It closes at 12._

_N _

"I see. There is a snake related issue." Ryuuki's fork paused halfway to his mouth, and he looked at L, who was dangling the note by a corner, certainly not looking like he had an issue with anything.

"Apparently he wondered where I was, and assumed that you would be able to tell him. Complained that you woke him up," said Ryuuki carefully.

"Yes, some files fell to the floor, but I wasn't expecting to be hissed at every time I moved."

"Seriously, he was just trying to get you to tell him where I was. He even tried slowing down, but you would just hear lots of hissing so I can see how you'd think he was out to get you. He likes our hair, by the way. He thinks it would look nice with his scales."

L noticed that even though it had been long enough for the food to be cold by now, the roast potatoes were still steaming.

"...Will it help matters if you tell him that I think his scales make a nice pattern?" Studying the pattern _had_ kept him from being completely bored after all.

"You know, I'm not sure. Owls like being told they have nice feathers, and Hippogriffs are always open to a compliment or two, so I don't see why not. I'll move him somewhere else if you want. That woman 'recognised' me by the way, so why in Merlin's name would you send me, knowing that would happen? She almost thought I was some kind of criminal. Although I suppose turning up on her balcony can't have helped... but still! You almost got me shot! Do you have any idea how much paperwork that is? Seriously. It would have been an I-triple-M. Not funny."

"I-triple-M?"

"Incident of Mass Memory Modification. If she had shot me, thinking I was a lunatic, that's what would have happened." L looked sceptical. "The bullet would have bounced off. Lady would have had a screaming fit."

"Bullets _bounce off_ you?"

Ryuuki nodded. "Amusingly enough I actually got accused of being a robot once, but then that could have been the added 'ding' that I added for effect. In for a penny, in for a pound!" he said with a grin. L had perched himself on a stool, and was staring at Ryuuki intently.

"Explain," L stated. Ryuuki sighed, and stopped pushing food around his plate. He was finished anyway.

"I figured out that stopping bullets would come in handy, as well as avoiding flying bits of pavement in a magical fight, so I worked on a shield that would only activate when hit by something that was moving past a certain speed. It's a specialty of mine I suppose... It's saved my life many times over. It wouldn't stop a truck from killing me, and a bullet would leave a hefty bruise, but I'd still be standing and my insides wouldn't be on the outside." Ryuuki winced and rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly feeling it with his fingers.

"Amazing...The list of things that magic can do must be extensive."

"It is, but you have to trawl through a lot of rubbish to find it. The Wizarding world was actually rather stagnant before the war created a few clever people who got the ball rolling. Information had to be collected from various sources to get a true idea of how it all worked, and people were rather set in their ways even when discoveries were made. It was entirely common that a certain method would work for one person and not another, and they would become discouraged, believing that they couldn't do it, when it was simply a case of finding what worked for them as an individual. Other things that they couldn't understand were immediately labelled as 'Dark Magic', including spells that just needed a certain level of skill to perform so that it wouldn't go out of control."

"This room is for making potions." L stated.

"Yes."

"What kind of potions?"

"There's a bookshelf in the corner with a load of recipes. From the looks of things it would be quicker for you to read the titles and descriptions than it would be for me to tell you. Anything too complicated is sent on to 'Mione. There's no technology, and technically no food allowed in here, but especially technology. Unmodified stuff tends to have a habit of blowing up when in contact with certain kinds of magic, so your laptop could set off a chain reaction in here that would level the hotel at least. I probably should have mentioned it earlier. Hang on; I have to confirm something, just in case I'm barking up the wrong tree."

A smaller piece of parchment appeared, and L shamelessly read what was being written upside down.

_Minnie McG,_

_ Acromantula? How long can you wait? There's a slight scheduling issue on this end._

_HJP_

"Kreacher!"

There was a _crack_, and the creepy little house-elf appeared again.

"Master Ryuuki be needing Kreacher?" he asked, with a wary sideways glance at L, who didn't bother to acknowledge the elf's presence.

"Yes, could you please take this to the Headmistress and wait for a reply?"

"Right away Master Ryuuki." With another _crack_ the elf was gone. L blinked.

"I have not yet encountered any information regarding acromantula."

Ryuuki chuckled. L's mannerisms really were endearing.

"Giant spiders. Giant talking spiders who don't mind the odd human meal. There used to be a colony of them deep in the Forbidden Forest next to Hogwarts. At the final battle, the Death Eaters drove the acromantula out of the Forest towards the school, and with the recent death of their leader, those who were fighting to take over leadership of the colony decided to start their own in another part of the forest instead." Ryuuki glanced towards L to see if he was following, and received a slight nod.

"Now, after numerous altercations, and having sampled human flesh, the new leaders decided that the patch of forest that bordered the school was the best piece of land, since then they could snack on hapless students who got too close. There are currently four smaller nests, not including the original larger one. For the last few years we've been trying to stop them from getting to close to the school without exterminating them; bearing in mind that when they negotiate, they tend to see the representative as part of the trade."

"That... does sound troublesome. What do they expect you to do?"

"Well, the information we have is from when I went in to investigate. It's tricky, because they can also climb trees. There are not many willing to go in, so they send me. It's sort of expected that I pitch in on these things. I also spoke to their previous leader before he died, and sort of knew what kind of reception to expect. I managed to distract them by telling them about Aragog's funeral and how sad Hagrid was, before wandlessly disillusioning myself and my broom, flying up through the trees as fast as I could, and getting the hell out of there. They eat each other too, so every fight we have with them provides them with more food, until they creep back towards the school. I suppose they just expect me to come up with a solution that doesn't involve having to put the school into lockdown every few weeks. We have to be careful though because they are an Endangered Magical Species."

"That seems unfair. What would they do without you there?"

"Probably keep up the fighting until they ate a few students, before using that as a reason to wipe them out. The thing is; it's the only colony in Britain, and their venom and silk goes for a good price. Hagrid raised Aragog himself and had a bond with him that kept them manageable, but then he died, and they won't listen to Hagrid so..."

L stared wide-eyed and tried to think of a solution.

"What would eat an acromantula?"

"If there's something out there that does, then I don't know what it is. I have a plan though. "

"What are they afraid of?"

Ryuuki laughed heartily, and with a slight touch of incredulity.

"You've got it in one, and I can't believe it... you didn't even know what an acromantula was until five minutes ago, and already you've practically figured it out!"

L was surprised, since it was a rather logical path to take, really.

"Snakes..."

"Basilisks in particular. Anyway, I should speak to Seth first, and you have to phone a good looking lady that wears leather trousers," said Ryuuki with a wink, before rising from his seat.

"Yes. I should speak to her soon, since she will be on the move from twelve o'clock onwards." He hopped off the stool and walked ahead of Ryuuki to the living room, Ryuuki following behind.

_*Hey, Seth! Seth! Sorry to wake you, but I when will you be finished with that rat? I've got a rather interesting job for you my friend, if you decide to agree...*_

"This is L. I am sorry for your loss, Misora-chan..."

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

Somewhere across the city, a Shinigami floated on its back, crunching through a juicy red apple, and he came to a decision. He watched as the arrogant human wrote name after name after name into his Death Note.

The Shinigami looked like something that was taken straight out of a child's worst nightmare, yet the teenager sat at the writing desk didn't look bothered at all by the presence of the otherworldly creature, and in fact seemed to be ignoring it.

If the Shinigami were standing, his height would be terrifying. If his wings were spread, you would fear for your life. If the painted mockery of a grin that was his mouth were to grin any wider, you would believe that your death was upon you, and that all hope was lost. His eyes were enough to haunt you for life, and his careless attitude made it rather obvious that he saw humans in general as a source of entertainment. He was enjoying _this_ game immensely. Never would he have imagined that someone so ambitious, so clever, would pick up his Note! Then there's this guy, L, who comes along and joins in the fun!

However, this new entity could spell disaster. He knew that if his human was not extremely careful, that his game would be over, and he would be stuck once again in the Shinigami Realm, bored out of his mind, and craving these sweet, juicy apples... so _delicious_...

He didn't think much of his human, if he were being honest. He was rather full of himself. Reckoned he was a God, of all things, but as long as he still had apples to eat, he couldn't really care less what he thought of himself. Still though, without Raito, things wouldn't be _anywhere near_ as interesting!

"Hey Raito... Hyuk hyuk hyuk...I wasn't going to say anything... Hyuk... but I _suppose_ it wouldn't hurt to tell you that there's a new _player_ in your little game! Hyuk hyuk hyuk!"

Raito looked up from the list of names that he had been writing, next to their time of death.

"What are you going on about Ryuk? A new player? What exactly do you mean by that?"

Usually the Shinigami had nothing of worth to say, but Raito knew his moods by now, and knew that Ryuk wouldn't be telling him this information unless this person could spell trouble for his dream of a new world.

"Exactly what I said, kid, there's a new guy in town! Just wait 'till I tell the Old Man!"

"Are you going to tell me who this person is? And I've told you before Ryuk, this is no game. I'm building a new world!"

"Yeah yeah so you keep saying, and I've no idea kid, I'll just tell you that when I was out flying around, I felt something that I haven't felt in a long time! Hyuk hyuk hyuk! This is gonna be fun! I'm so glad I dropped my Note! Hyuk hyuk hyuk!" The Shinigami rolled around in the air, laughing hysterically and clutching his thin stomach.

"Human or Shinigami?"

"Human. Hyuk hyuk... Yup! Some sort of human."

"What makes you so sure they're after me?"

"Well, they're in Tokyo, and Kira is in Tokyo, so I just assumed... I guess they could be taking a holiday or something..." said Ryuk offhandedly.

"Well if they are planning to make a move, it seems like I have no choice other than to wait. I will be even more careful, however, in case I am still being watched."

Raito admitted to himself that Ryuk's chuckles sounded far more creepy and sinister than usual, and that if what the Shinigami said was true, then perhaps he was in more danger than he originally thought. Yes, he would have to be much more careful. After all, if Ryuk could somehow _sense_ this person, and had felt the need to share this information, then this person _had_ to be important somehow.

Unfortunately it really would seem that he had to wait for this mystery person to show themselves, before he decided what to do about it. Until then, he needed to make doubly sure that he hadn't made a single mistake that would lead to his identity.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

Back at the hotel, L hung up the phone after successfully gaining Misora as an ally. In exchange for a small sum of money, she would remain in the area for the duration of the Kira case, for anything that needed to be accomplished without alerting the Task Force. It was underhanded, but with the prime suspect being the Chief's son, an ally in the shadows could be rather useful, if not critical at some point in the investigation. He was brought out of his thoughts by a loud thud, and when he turned to see what had happened, he noticed that Seth was on the floor, swaying slightly and hissing in a disjointed fashion.

"Uhm, he fell out of the tree, and now he's laughing," said a grinning Ryuuki when he noticed where L's attention was focussed. "From the looks of things, Seth is more than willing."

"That explains it... Will you now explain how I can keep an eye on things here?"

Suddenly there was a crack, and Kreacher appeared.

"For you, Master Ryuuki," he said, passing him a piece of parchment.

"'Dear blah blah blah... Next time instruct your house-elf to wait until I am available, rather than interrupting my lecture regarding'... oh they didn't, those little horrors... Anyway, ahem, 'Hope things are going well in Japan'... get to the point... Aha! Huh? '_Fawkes_ has appeared and has graciously agreed to lend his assistance, and Hogwarts has been locked down for the night. The situation is not dire, but as you can see, the students are becoming restless'... Right, so that gives us a bunch of time to play with. I didn't think I'd ever be seeing Fawkes again... I wonder what has brought him back." Ryuuki stared at the letter in his hands, and L watched Ryuuki.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore's Phoenix."

"...Yes. Do you seriously remember absolutely everything you see and hear?" Ryuuki asked, staring intently at L.

"...Yes."

"That's cooler than talking to snakes."

"It is useful," he stated emotionlessly. "Will you now tell me what you are proposing?"

"Ah! Yes, I just had to make sure that I didn't have to leave right away, you see. I have an insane plan which involves getting absolutely everything out of the way, leaving us better off in the long run, whilst hopefully getting some sense out of that centaur. If a centaur requests that you speak to them, you don't ignore it. The problem is, you only really understand what they were talking about _after_ it's happened, and by then it's usually too late. That's where you come in."

"I see. However I must remain here in person, especially since you mentioned that technology does not mix well with magic."

"That, will _not_ be a problem. You'll want cake for this."

L shuffled over to his desk and pushed a button.

"Watari."

"_Yes L?"_ was the immediate reply.

"I require cake."

"_Understood. However, there was no cake."_

"No... cake...? Explain."

"_There is no cake. However, I did purchase the necessary ingredients."_

"Ask him to bring them, and you'll have your cake," interrupted Ryuuki. L glanced at him suspiciously, before once again pressing the button.

"That will be sufficient, Watari."

"_I shall bring everything you need. Will that be all?"_

"Yes."

"Doesn't he ever refuse, on the grounds that your manners are completely non-existent?" asked Ryuuki.

"No."

"Hey Kreacher!" Ryuuki called over to the elf, who had been staring suspiciously at Seth. "Would you mind making a cake?"

"I is not knowing how to make muggle cake, Master Ryuuki."

Ryuuki glared slightly at the elf.

"Come on now Kreacher, he's perfectly harmless! What is it that you think he's going to do to you?"

"Nasty muggles, spewing their filthy _fumes_, with their nasty _cars_ and _aeroplanes_, and their nasty _toasters_... They is taking up too much space, Master Ryuuki, and I is not liking it."

"Kreacher they are just doing the best they can with what they have. This guy isn't driving a car, isn't anywhere near an aeroplane, isn't holding a toaster, and just wants some cake."

L shuffled forwards slightly.

"Excuse my interruption, but how do you know that Kreacher makes good cake? I do have rather refined tastes after all. I won't eat just any cake."

Ryuuki turned to L, fighting a grin, but before he could say anything Kreacher caught his attention.

"Master Ryuuki, did that _muggle_ just... disgraceful, knows nothing of house-elves..." He turned to L and jabbed a knobbly little grey finger at him. "I'll have you know, _ignorant_ _muggle_, that we house elves can make cakes that would put your muggle treats to shame, yes they would... Doubting house-elves' cooking..." he muttered, walking away.

"I'm not sure about that Kreacher," said L pensively, playing with his bottom lip. "I've tasted a _lot_ of muggle cakes, and I have to say that I find it difficult to believe that you could make a cake that is better than them all."

Kreacher sputtered indignantly, as L continued.

"However, I cannot be completely sure, as I have never tasted one of your cakes, and therefore have no basis for comparison." He stared into the distance disinterestedly.

Kreacher paused, and Ryuuki added, "The sweeter the better by the looks of things Kreacher! I reckon you should give him a demonstration; after all he's got a point. How can he know that house-elves make the best cakes when he's never tried one?"

Kreacher nodded stiffly with a determined expression, and disappeared with a crack. Ryuuki swiftly dissolved into giggles.

"_That_," he stated emphatically, "was _brilliant_!" He giggled some more. "I have _never_ seen a house-elf look so _insulted_ in my life!" He was almost struggling to breathe at this point as he kept remembering the look on Kreachers face. Priceless.

Even L had to crack a small smile.

Watari knocked before entering the room with the bag of ingredients, staring curiously at Ryuuki who was still giggling, and he could have sworn that L had been _smiling _amomentago...

"Here you are. Would you like me to set everything up for you in the kitchen?" asked Watari, itching to have _everything_ set up...

L looked at Ryuuki, who straightened and quickly reassured L.

"Don't worry, Kreacher has his own 'domain' shall we say. He's already got everything he needs. _You'll_ be eating the cake he brings, and staying out of my way as _I_ turn this bag of stuff into a cake, and fill your head with exciting concepts. Don't worry about setting it all up Watari; I know my way around a kitchen, but thanks anyway."

L stared incredulously at Ryuuki, as Watari nodded slowly and reluctantly handed over the bag of ingredients, inwardly lamenting the loss of the opportunity to fit a camera.

"You can make cake?" L asked innocently. His thumb was resting on his bottom lip and his eyes were wide as he stared at Ryuuki.

"Yes. Nothing special I suppose, but it can definitely be classed as cake, and it will give me something to do when explaining things."

Watari left the room quietly, and they made their way to the kitchen, L sitting at the table and watching wide eyed as drawers and cupboards opened and closed themselves seemingly at random.

"Right, now I know roughly where everything is..."

When everything had stopped opening and closing, and things had stopped flying around his head, he raised his eyes and noted that everything Ryuuki would need was already on the table.

"Ah, hold on, I'd better hide all this for the moment," said Ryuuki, before everything on the table abruptly vanished. L felt the urge to rub his eyes.

"Why?"

"A certain elf would be insulted."

Just then there was a crack, and Kreacher appeared holding what looked like a chocolate cake.

"Triple Chocolate Fudge Melt!" he stated proudly. L stared hungrily at the cake, seemingly devouring it with his eyes.

"I must say that I am impressed. So far I have learnt that house-elf cakes are extremely fast," said L, glancing sideways at Kreacher, who had folded his arms and looked as if he was waiting to pounce on any and all criticisms. L decided then and there that it wouldn't be wise to insult the little elf. Digging in his pocket, he brought out his cake fork and made to dig in.

"Hang on L, you can't just start tunnelling your way through, at least wait until I cut a slice!" said Ryuuki incredulously.

L looked a bit disgruntled, but he waited quietly until Ryuuki had summoned a plate and a large knife. He was more than slightly wary when the knife started doing its own thing and cutting the cake without a hand to guide it, and he subconsciously curled up a bit tighter. Soon enough though, a slice of cake that he would be allowed to eat was in front of him, and he happily stuck his fork in it. Perfect sponginess, not too dry, and not too soggy... nice bounce...

"Kreacher... you truly are a master at your craft. You made this by yourself?" said L, through a second mouthful of cake. Kreacher tilted his head slightly.

"Of course!"

"And you can make other cakes that taste just as good as this one?"

"Any cake that _you've_ heard of, and many more that you haven't!" stated Kreacher proudly.

"Then I have to say that house-elf cake is definitely among my favourites."

Kreacher looked as if L had just stated the most obvious thing in the world.

"Hey Kreacher, tell L exactly what you think about aeroplanes!" said Ryuuki, changing the subject as he started digging in to his own slice of cake.

"They is screaming metal flying death traps, Master Ryuuki," Kreacher stated obediently.

L smiled slightly at the small elf's description, thinking that he wasn't far wrong. L of course did have a couple of aircraft in storage but he wasn't about to tell that to the elf.

"I like you Kreacher, you have the funniest way of describing things!" said Ryuuki, grinning around his fork.

"I must tend to the Isle, Master Ryuuki," said Kreacher, bowing in Ryuuki's direction.

"Of course, Kreacher. Make sure you get plenty of rest, you've done rather a lot today as it is."

"Master need not be worrying, Kreacher knows."

The elf disappeared with a _crack_.

"He'll warm up to you. He lived with the Blacks for most of his life, and they filled his head with all sorts of horror stories about muggles."

L decided that he didn't particularly care, as long as the elf didn't click its fingers anywhere near him.

Ryuuki's plate floated to the sink, and all of the utensils reappeared on the table. L carefully picked up the dormant knife, and cut himself another slice of cake that was twice as large as the slice he had just eaten. Ryuuki gave him a funny look, but said nothing.

"Right, since you have your cake, I will begin." Ryuuki started weighing ingredients.

"I am telling you here and now, that no matter what you believe, time travel exists, it is real, and I have personally travelled back in time on two separate occasions."

"I suspected you meant... but I dismissed it as impossible... you mean to tell me that you propose that we... time travel... it is possible to exist in two places at the same point in time? Is it-"

"Eat your cake. I'm really sorry for interrupting, but I will explain everything as best I can." L nodded slightly and rapidly ate a large chunk of cake.

"I have a device called a time turner. There are only two left in existence, because my friends and I accidentally destroyed the rest in our fifth year, but there were two that were on loan at the time. They are working on a few more as we speak, I think... Probably the best way to tell you would be to tell you the truth of my third year at school, regarding Sirius Black."

"Your Godfather."

"Yes. I told you that Pettigrew was a rat animagus. He was actually my friend Ron's pet rat, and lived with us in the dorm, and we never knew. Sirius saw a picture of Ron's family in a newspaper when he was in prison, and 'Scabbers' as we knew him was sat on Ron's shoulder. Sirius recognised him and saw that the paper mentioned Ron as being my best friend, so Sirius escaped from Azkaban is his animagus form of a dog, since in that form he was thin enough to slip through the bars, and the Dementors take no notice of animals. He came to Hogwarts. Let's just say he knew of Wormtail's betrayal and wanted the rat dead.

"On the day in question, Buckbeak – a Hippogriff – was due to be executed, and we left Hagrid's hut just in time, due to a pot smashing and drawing our attention to the fact that people were on their way. We stood on a hill, and watched a man raise an axe before letting it fall. Scabbers bit Ron and ran away, Ron chased Scabbers, we chased Ron, and next thing we know, this huge black dog comes out of nowhere and drags Ron into a tunnel under the Whomping Willow."

L watched as Ryuuki switched on the electric mixer, frowning as the noise filled the kitchen. With a flick of the finger, the mixer was silent, and yet obviously still working.

"Why didn't it blow up?" L asked curiously, his fork hovering in mid-air.

"The spell isn't on the mixer itself, and it's far enough away to have barely any effect on the electronics," answered Ryuuki.

"Anyway. 'Mione and I follow this dog into the tunnel, trying not to get killed by this crazy tree, and we come to the end to find ourselves in the Shrieking Shack. Then we find out that the dog is really a man, there's a small fight involving a couple of teachers, and we find out that Sirius is innocent and that the rat that Ron is holding is the real traitor. It gets proved, we tie him up, and we all exit the tunnel. But! One of the teachers was a Werewolf, it was the full moon, and he hadn't taken his Wolfsbane potion so he wasn't able to keep his mind when he transformed. Sirius fought the Werewolf as a dog so that we could escape, Pettigrew turned in to a rat and escaped in all the fuss, and being the twit that I was, I ran after Sirius when I heard him yowling. I found him beside the lake, almost overcome by the Dementors, who then also turned on me. I tried to repel them with the Patronus Charm, which I'd been trying to learn for months, but it didn't work."

L had stopped eating cake, and was listening avidly, eyes wide and cheeks pouched, his mind racing to form conclusions.

"The next thing I know, I'm lying on the ground, a Dementor about to suck my soul out, and I see the massive great huge shining stag, and I truly believed that my father had come back from the dead in his animagus form. It chased off over a hundred Dementors, and I passed out."

"It was you, wasn't it? You went back in time, and that stag that you sent yesterday is the same one, and you saved your own life?" Ryuuki shook his head slightly as he poured the batter into two separate cake tins.

"No no no... That's not the point here. I have to tell this in the right order so that it makes sense. Ah... I didn't put the oven on." Ryuuki sighed before turning the dial on the oven, and sitting down opposite L. Behind him, dishes were washing themselves in the sink.

"Right, so I woke up in the hospital wing, and I found out that Sirius was locked in a tower, and that the Minister at the time had ordered that he be kissed by a Dementor. Dumbledore walks in and tells 'Mione that 'seven turns should do it, and more than one life can be spared. You have until the last chime' or something like that, and the next thing I know, the bells are ringing out and she brings out a time turner, puts the chain around both our necks, and turns this hourglass. Time starts speeding backwards around us, and when it slows, it is daylight again, and the room is empty. She tells me that we mustn't be seen, and that the consequences would be disastrous. We retraced our steps to Hagrid's hut, to just before our other selves left. We hid and watched our other selves through the window, and were concerned when we noticed the executioner, the Headmaster, and the Minister walking towards the hut, and yet our other selves were not leaving. 'Mione got our other selves attention by smashing the pot, and they looked out of the window and noticed that they had to leave. We watched ourselves go, and then listened to the conversation taking place in the hut."

"Buckbeak was the other life."

"Yes, you're right. We waited until everybody had seen Buckbeak, and then set him loose when they weren't looking. Dumbledore knew we were there of course, and he helped by talking nonsense and distracting everyone else. When we had seen the axe fall from on top of the hill, what we didn't see was that the executioner had embedded it into a pumpkin, not Buckbeak's neck." Here Ryuuki paused, as he once again rubbed his own neck, and glanced towards the oven, noting that it was at the correct temperature. L sat in silence, eating yet another slice of cake as Ryuuki floated the two cake tins into the oven, before realising that he would have to get up to set the timer. He huffed slightly before smirking and clicking his fingers.

L tilted his head curiously.

"I've set an alarm for fifteen minutes time."

L nodded in understanding, and continued to inhale cake at an astonishing rate. It had been a while, after all.

"What happened next?" demanded L. He didn't intend for it to come out that way, but oh well. It _was_ an interesting story.

"Well, we had no choice but to wait until everyone came out of the tree, so we waited with Buckbeak just inside the forest until everything played out. The plan was to wait until Sirius was locked up in the tower, and then break him out. So, long story short, the first Harry followed Sirius who was getting pummelled, the second 'Mione distracted the Werewolf, who ran towards _us_ instead, Buckbeak helped us out, and I ran to where I thought I had seen my 'Dad' appearing. 'Mione tried to tell me that my Dad wasn't coming, and if I had stubbornly waited much longer I would have been too late. As it was, I realised that I was standing in exactly the same place, and everything clicked together rather rapidly after that. I didn't have to worry whether or not I could cast a fully corporeal Patronus, because I'd already done it. Of course, we got Sirius out, and got back to the Hospital Wing just in time to see ourselves disappear, and time went back to normal from there. I think that pretty much covers how it all works. As you can probably guess, I'm not very good with technical explanations."

"I have sufficient information. For example, your Headmaster would have no choice but to help you, since he already knew that you had both gone back in time; and you didn't change events that had already happened. All you did was make sense of several oddities. Seeing yourself was indeed a bad idea, but if your first self had known that you would be time travelling, there shouldn't have been a problem. With you planning to be in different countries at the same time, there shouldn't be any chance of us meeting ourselves unexpectedly."

"Exactly."

"How far back is it possible to go?"

"I'd rather not risk more than five hours at a time, which would be ten turns, and I'd rather not risk more than two of ourselves existing at any one point in time. Nobody can know we're doing this, mind you. Especially those at Hogwarts. As far as they know, there's no meddling involved."

"Why exactly do you have one of these devices?"

"In case there was an emergency back home, but I still had to maintain a cover here. Also in case I found myself having difficulties managing to investigate magically in my spare time."

L sat and contemplated, and Ryuuki allowed him some time for things to sink in. A few minutes later a shrill alarm sounded, and Ryuuki waved his hand before wandlessly opening the oven door and bringing out the cake tins.

"I want it planned down to the last second."

"Naturally."

The two spent the next hour planning in great detail, with L deciding that he wanted to ice the cake himself along the way. Ryuuki of course ended up having to double the supply of icing to compensate for the amount that L repeatedly managed to sneak away on his finger. It was difficult to tell when he sneaked some, as his finger practically lived on his lips anyway, so seeing it there wasn't the giveaway that it should have been. They did, however, come up with a plan that would cover everything that they needed to do, and that they were both happy with, and they also managed to eventually finish the cake.

"I can't wait to see the look on 'Mione's face!" Ryuuki laughed some more. From the sounds of the woman on the phone earlier, L didn't think he should be laughing.

"She can do magic too, right? What is she likely to do to you with that magic when she finds out?"

"Ha ha... aaaah. Way to kill the mood," said Ryuuki, sulking.

"Just a thought."

"You've got a damn good point. I might have to think on how I'm going to deliver this one. She hates brooms."

Ryuuki looked so worried that L was almost tempted to laugh. If he had ever decided to imagine a Wizard for some reason, it would not have been this one.

"L, just out of interest, where it says 'Sleeping' for what we should be doing in five minutes, that includes you, right? In fact, have you even slept at all since I got here?"

L glared.

"It is not necessary for me to sleep at this time."

"You can't stay awake forever, especially with the extra time we'll have to go through, and it's going to be really busy. Walking through Hogwarts can be tiring when you're not used to navigating a castle, and I'm not floating you everywhere! Honestly you need to sleep if we're going to do this, and this is the only chance you've got!" Ryuuki stated emphatically. "Especially with Poppy as the Mediwitch; if you end up in her territory, she won't let you go until she's satisfied."

L shifted his glare to the floor.

"If it helps, I asked 'Mione if the stuff I take is safe for muggles, so you can try that. I'll even knock myself out first if that stops you from being paranoid. If you do, I'd suggest getting Watari to check on you every hour or so. It's called Dreamless Sleep." A potions book floated through and landed on the table in front of L, opening to an obviously well used recipe.

"No."

"I can spell you to sleep, but I can't guarantee that it will be dreamless."

L glared at the book, which promised a full night of dreamless sleep.

"Look, I know that with you being a complete Slytherin that you trust absolutely nothing, but even Slytherins trust this stuff. So you can't sleep properly. So what? I can't either. You saw me the other night, and quite frankly that was nowhere near the worst of it. I'm going to happily knock myself out with this potion, and if you need me, I suggest finding a taser and shocking me with it. That's what the guys at my training did. I will give you a vial, tell you to take a sip at a time, and tell you to get Watari to make sure you're not breathing funny. If there's a problem, tell him to taser me and I'll sort it."

A vial of bluish-purple liquid settled on the table in front of L.

"When you say a sip, would you say that roughly translates to about 5ml?"

"Roughly. I take a full vial for 8 hours sleep, but it's different for me, I'm on a rather extreme end of the scale. 'Mione says it will be trial and error to find out what works for you, but to start small. Now if you'll excuse me, I appear to be five minutes late for my sleeping appointment." Ryuuki grinned before standing with his own vial which appeared to be twice the size of the one in front of L.

"I've got a half vial, you have a quarter vial," explained Ryuuki, seeing the look and interpreting it correctly. "I won't be drinking a full dose; I know we don't have enough time for 8 hours of sleep." L nodded, turning back to the book as Ryuuki left the room.

Dreamless Sleep...

L stared at the vial, feeling rather sad for a reason that he couldn't quite put into words.

**A/N:** Can anyone guess why L is sad there at the end? Poor L.

Monster chapter as promised! Feel free to leave your feedback, as it is all appreciated! I try to answer them all but I apologise if I miss a couple by accident! I think I replied to them all for the last chapter for sure though.

Again thanks for adding me to a whole bunch of lists! If everyone who read this reviewed, I'd need my own PR department. So go nuts, but not too nuts, as I'm no L! Although I'd love to pull a super secret Headquarters out of nowhere. Awesome.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** Dialogue lifted straight from Death Note manga in places, mainly the Task Force and L, so it's not from my head. Anything you don't recognise, however, was thought up by me!

**Chapter 11**

It was the next afternoon, and both L and Ryuuki had been drinking tea and staring blankly at monitors since early that morning.

"L, this is insanely boring. We've been here for _hours_. Are you telling me that all we're going to do is sit here watching them run about like headless chickens until Yagami gives some sort of ultimatum?"

"That is precisely what we are going to do," stated L, giving no outward reaction.

"And poor Watari just has to stand there, guarding the other laptop like some kind of sentinel, wrapped up in all those layers, without even a cooling charm..."

"Yes."

"So... this is normal?"

"For large scale meetings, yes. Ordinarily a simple phone conversation is sufficient, but at other times it is necessary to address a large group." L scooped up a handful of jelly beans, tilting his head and dropping them in his mouth, his eyes never leaving the screen in front of him.

"Wow. In my world, if there's a problem, I pick out a team with all the skills I think they'll need, and they just go and deal with it. If it's serious, then I go with them. None of this sitting around, watching people through computers!" he complained.

"Unfortunately, a lot of detective work involves a great deal of patience on my part," began L, dropping sugar cubes into a fresh cup of tea. "Gathering enough evidence for a sound conviction in a court of law is usually the hardest part of each case, with different criteria needing to be met depending on which country – or indeed countries – are involved. Usually I know who the culprit is as soon as I see them, but instinct does not stand up in court, so I know how frustrating it can be to have to wait."

"Damn right it's frustrating. I'm so bored! In my world everything happens so quickly, and everything moves so fast. I'm not used to sitting doing nothing. There's always notes flying in and out of my office, and bobbing around my head, and then there are all the owls that tap on the window, and the sound of the Aurors shouting to each other down the corridor. Here it's just quiet except for those annoying phones, and these guys are the most boring bunch of people I've ever seen. I haven't heard a single laugh, nor bang, and there's no random stinging or itching hexes flying around!"

"Just relax." There should have been a longsuffering sigh in there somewhere, but L had long ago mastered these impulses.

"I can't. I want to _do_ something!"

"Your Aurors hex each other?" L asked, still watching the screen, yet hoping to prevent Ryuuki from deciding to entertain himself somehow.

Ryuuki looked rather sad. Sad enough to make a normal person regret asking, and to brush if off with a cheery, 'Nevermind!' but L had never considered himself to be normal, and therefore didn't hold himself to standards that were logically impossible. Ryuuki answered him, and that was all that mattered.

"It's kind of in honour of one of the greatest Aurors of all time, Mad-Eye Moody. He used to yell out, 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!'-" L's feet almost lifted off his chair, and his eyes left the screen for a split second, "-randomly at people, and so there's a sort of running joke... If someone's sitting daydreaming, next thing you know, they're jumping a foot into the air and yelping as someone screams 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!' and flings a harmless hex or jinx at them from the other side of the room, and everyone smiles and remembers Mad-Eye, as the unfortunate victim mutters obscenities and sorts themselves out. It keeps them on their toes. You're nowhere near as paranoid as he was, by the way, he used to have all sort of nasty wards on his house, and he sent out so many false alarms that nobody took any notice of the scuffle that happened when he actually was kidnapped and replaced..."

"He sounds very strange," muttered L as he watched Yagami san enter the room with a rather intense look on his face.

"Yeah, it didn't help that he had that _creepy_ eye - the thing could see through _walls_, and his own _skull_. Plus his face looked like tree bark. Oh and he had a wooden leg."

L grimaced.

"_All of us could be murdered by Kira."_

That got both of their attention, and both young men leaned forward and watched the screen intently.

"_The deaths of the FBI agents tell us that Kira's targets are not restricted to criminals. He will kill anyone who tries to apprehend him... Think about your own lives, and about your families and your friends."_

Ryuuki glanced at L, who was chewing his thumb.

"_If you want out of the investigation, you are free to leave. Quitting the Task Force will not lead to demotion. I've already spoken to the Deputy Director General over this."_

"He's a nice guy, that Director General. A bit blustery, and a touch arrogant, but then what official isn't. He's one of the good guys though."

"Shhh."

"_Only those who are willing to sacrifice everything and fight, who are truly committed to stopping this psychopath..."_

"Ouch. That could be his kid..."

"Shhh!"

"_...are asked to remain. I'll find out who you are when I return at five o'clock from my meeting upstairs_."

They watched as the Chief left the room, and everyone starting looking at each other. Gradually, people started to leave.

"Right, so five o'clock. Give whoever is left instructions to meet us, then pack up and move out."

"Yes." L stared at the wall, absently tipping some sugary sludge into his mouth.

"Okay, got it. That fits in rather nicely, doesn't it? You knew this would happen."

"There was a ninety-two percent chance as soon as Yagami-san entered the room."

"I mean last night, when we were working everything out," Ryuuki said, rolling his eyes, and poking L in the arm.

"Ouch," said L flatly, and Ryuuki burst out laughing.

"No, seriously! You knew it would be five o'clock, didn't you?"

L nibbled his thumb, glancing sideways at Ryuuki.

"There was an eighty-two percent probability of Yagami-san saying something of the sort today, and then an eighty-seven percent probability of us finding out who we would be working with at five o'clock. However, I knew of the meeting Yagami-san has to attend beforehand, so it wasn't really that difficult to predict."

Ryuuki sat in thought, and L changed his mind about going to find some truffles, and decided to stay where he was and take the opportunity to observe Ryuuki more closely.

"You know... with my magic, and you having a decent head on your shoulders... we might actually come out of this with our lives intact."

"That would be preferable," L replied, watching as more people left the Task Force.

"What are you going to tell them about me? They're going to ask questions. I can't tell them about magic, either."

"We could say that you are a rival detective that I uncovered and brought in when noticing that your features were remarkably similar to mine, and that we have decided to combine forces."

Ryuuki sat and chewed it over in his mind. Implausible really, but quite frankly the truth of the matter was even more ridiculous than the lie. Plus it allowed for it to be said once, glossed over and then forgotten and accepted, leaving enough room for his background to be just as mysterious as L's if need be. He could work with that.

"I like it... except the part where it makes me look like an incompetent twit for barely lasting two days before getting found out. That irks me."

"Truthfully you didn't last a day. You were extremely obvious."

Ryuuki just looked sheepish, before shrugging. "Fine, two days it is. They're going to think that we're related."

"You could always just use your natural face and a different name, although your eyes are rather distinctive."

"No no no! Harry Potter and his face stay in England, the public is none the wiser, and Kinjo Ryuuki investigates Kira. This face is my insurance just in case I accidentally come across that murdering twit, and it's my ticket to a mob-free existence for the foreseeable future. I'd be insane to use my own face here. Not happening. Britain only."

L nodded.

"It's going to be weird calling you Ryuzaki by the way. You just seem like more of an L to me. By the way, please don't tell me that your name is Lucius. That would be infinitely tragic, and I'd have to hex you on principle."

L hopped off his chair and decided that it was time for truffles. Ryuuki stretched out on his chair, wincing as various joints cracked, stiff from sitting in the same spot for hours.

"I guess I'd better get Seth settled into Morpheus, hopefully I can get it done without waking him up although a quick '_Dormus'_ should do the trick..." he murmured absently.

L paused just before eating a truffle. "Morpheus," he stated curiously, before popping the whole truffle into his mouth.

"My car. It's totally awesome! It's been in development for years, and when the Japanese Ministry learned that I was coming here for a while, they offered me the chance to drive one. The thing is insane! It's straight out of the movies. I'm definitely going to see about buying it," Ryuuki replied animatedly, twisting round in his seat and giving L a wolfish grin.

"I see. Yes, it would be wise to prepare for our departure. Any and all traces of our presence must be removed before we leave."

"So now we just wait around until five?"

"Precisely."

Ryuuki sighed, before wondering absently – and with slight dread – whether or not he could apply a blanket sticking charm, instead of having to stick Seth's Corner together piece by piece before shrinking it.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

At five o'clock both young men were once again leaning towards the computer screen as they observed the Chief re-enter the Task Room.

"Well... you wanted a smaller task force, and I think that would be the textbook definition of a small task force," Ryuuki mumbled, his chin leaning on his hand, wishing that he had a Sugar Quill to nibble on. Raiding L's rather large stash didn't seem like the best of ideas – knowing that odd man, he likely ate them in sequence, or in some sort of ritual that would be disrupted if he did – and he hadn't failed to notice that there was a clear boundary between them that had been established over the course of the day. From when L had started his 'collection' that morning, various plates, bowls, cups, and containers holding numerous sweet substances had migrated to what was clearly 'L's Side' of the desk, stopping at the exact mid-point of the screen that they had been staring at for the best part of the day. Ryuuki's side looked rather bare in comparison, with only an empty teacup facing L's veritable army of dishes, most of which were empty.

If the teacup were magical, it would probably be shaking in its saucer. That was another thing... For a man as untidy as L, to get worked up over leaving _tea_ _rings_ on his desk? It was... strange... and so, he was stuck with using a _saucer_. Ron and George would be laughing their multi-coloured flashing socks off if they ever found out.

L said nothing in reply, and he watched quietly, a gleam in his eyes that could have just been the reflection of the screens in front of him.

"_Glad to have you back, Chief,"_ said Matsuda who was standing with his back to the camera.

"_Just five... no... I should say, as many as five of you are willing to lay your lives on the line. With myself, that's six of us..."_

The Chief rounded his desk, making his face visible to the camera, and Ryuuki felt a pang as he watched his features fall; the man was obviously trying to keep it together, and was obviously dedicated to catching Kira... and the prime suspect happened to be his son. Ryuuki felt a sudden anger towards Kira; whether it really was the Chief's son who was responsible for the murders or not, this man did not deserve to be put through any of this, and it would only get worse.

The screen flickered slightly, and with a touch of alarm, Ryuuki immediately set to clearing his mind. It helped when he noticed L looking slightly panicked at the flicker, and he fought a grin, thankful that he hadn't been touching anything that wasn't shielded. However, he would have to be careful...

"_How are we going to do this with just six people...?"_

Ryuuki sneezed, and L glared at him slightly.

"I'm going to need you to be quiet Ryuuki-kun," said L sharply.

"I can't help sneezing!" said Ryuuki indignantly, rubbing his eyes slightly.

"_There's L, which makes it seven. Add Watari, and we have eight, Chief!"_

Good old Matsuda.

L pushed a button on the desk.

"I have great faith in those of you who-" "Tch!" "-were brave and committed enough to remain."

L took his finger off the button, turning slowly to glare fiercely at Ryuuki, who was looking at his own hand in disgust.

"Ewww... OWW! What was that for? I told you I can't help sneezing, it's not like I did it on purpose!"

"On purpose or not, if you embarrass me, I will not hesitate to kick you. If you must sneeze, leave the room."

"Fine," Ryuuki said moodily, magically cleaning his hand and glaring slightly at the floor, wincing slightly when he realised that the cleansing charm had been a little _too_ thorough. His hand felt like it had been scrubbed raw.

"_Uh... Just wait a minute."_

That caught their attention, and once again both focussed on the screen.

"_L said he has great faith in us, but... we don't have faith in L. We can't trust him!"_

"Ouch... that's got to sting your pride..."

"_Shush_ Ryuuki, or leave the room." The tone of voice left no room for debate, and Ryuuki happily erected a one-way silencing charm around himself, since he got a feeling he would need it. He vaguely listened to those on the screen arguing that L never showed his face, and he had the childish urge to push the button and say hello to everyone, just to see their reactions. Obviously, his voice would be scrambled, and L would probably kick him up and down the streets of Tokyo if he went near it, but one can dream...

"_It's true that a number of criminal psychologists have suggested that L is Kira. In other words, they're saying that L has a split personality..."_

Ryuuki took one look at L, surrounded by screens and sweets, and was glad for the silencing charm as he started howling with laughter, all sound contained in his little bubble, imagining introducing himself to the taskforce, _'Hi! I'm Ryuzaki's other personality, Ryuuki! We split a week ago, since we just couldn't stand each other anymore. I like ramen, he likes cake; it was a logistical nightmare! Sorry about killing all those criminals!' _His mind took him to so many strange and wonderful places. Perhaps he was slightly cracked, but at least he was a harmless crazy person.

L was slightly disconcerted at seeing and yet not hearing, but internally he was glad that someone seemed to find the notion of him being Kira as ridiculous as he did. He could see their point, but still. It irked him. He waited until the taskforce demanded to meet him before pushing the button to talk.

"As I said earlier, I have great faith in you." _Liar_. "Watari..." Glancing at Ryuuki who seemed to have calmed himself down slightly, he started typing to the taskforce using one of the other monitors, telling them to think carefully about whether or not they were willing to work with him.

"Do you reckon they'll be up for it?" asked Ryuuki, taking down the silencing charm.

"I am certain of all but two."

They waited in silence.

A few minutes later, all but one of the Japanese officers had returned, and L tapped out instructions for those that were left to meet him discreetly at the new hotel suite at midnight.

Two hours later, L had finished 'tying up some loose ends' as he called it, and Watari had returned from the NPA Headquarters to drive L to the new hotel. Ryuuki would be taking Morpheus, and was looking forward to the long drive to the hotel which happened to be across Tokyo, just round the corner from the NPA building.

"Ryuuki."

"Yes?"

"Am I really..." L trailed off, seemingly unable to find the words.

"Yes," Ryuuki replied seriously, knowing exactly what L was referring to.

The three of them were silent from then on, L seeming to be rather deep in thought as he stared at the ground, shuffling in his odd manner, his face obscured by his untidy mop of hair. They walked through the hotel, Ryuuki having cast notice-me-not charms just in case they bumped into any of the staff, which was unlikely, knowing L. Again, they were using service corridors, and L had tweaked the cameras.

The three walked out into the underground car park, and both Watari and L followed curiously as Ryuuki walked past their Limo, and continued on to a shadowy corner.

"This is your car?" said Watari incredulously, staring open-eyed at Ryuuki.

"Yes. This is Morpheus," said Ryuuki watching avidly.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Watari, walking up to the car. "I'll just wait in the car," he said rather suddenly, turning on his heel and starting to walk away.

L watched all of this in bemusement. Watari never passed up the opportunity to ogle at a new car.

"Watari!" called Ryuuki. Watari stopped and turned, looking curiously at him.

"Yes? Is something the matter?"

"The closer you want to get, the further away it pushes you. Focus on coming over to grab my arm, hopefully that will help things a bit."

L's eyes lit up in comprehension.

"You said that this was your car didn't you? What model is it?" asked Watari, walking closer to Ryuuki and reaching out a hand to grab his arm, just before glancing at the car in question, which was now about three foot away from him. "Ah! I think I have forgotten something, I'll just have to go and retrieve it; I'll just be a moment!"

L grinned wickedly behind his thumb, and gleefully watched his guardian making a complete fool out of himself, being careful not to look at the car of course. He saw that Ryuuki was grinning slightly too, rolling his eyes as he reached out and took Watari's hand.

"What is it that you've forgotten Watari?" asked L flatly.

"You know... it's the funniest thing... I have no idea. I just felt that I'd forgotten something," said Watari vaguely, staring at the car in bemusement.

"Well, it appears that holding my hand is enough to see past that ward..." said Ryuuki absently.

Out of curiosity more than anything, L looked towards the car and focussed his thoughts towards wanting to sit in it.

"There are sweets in the other car!" L announced suddenly, turning on his heel. Ryuuki noticed him starting to walk away just in time to reach out with his unoccupied hand and snatch L's thumb out of his mouth. Watari looked on in amusement and which quickly turned to fascination as Ryuuki excitedly started whispering the basic information he'd found so far about Morpheus, glad he'd found someone else who apparently appreciated a decent car.

Someone grabbing his whole hand had jerked L out of his trance, and he suddenly froze, staring in shock at the hand currently covering his, unaware of the information that was being whispered. It was a very different hand, and it seemed to have rougher skin than his own, hinting that Ryuuki used his hands a lot for various tasks, which suggested that he didn't rely on magic for everything like he had originally assumed. The thing that stood out the most, and that almost burned itself into his mind for all eternity, was a scar that sent chills racing down his spine. Across the back of his hand were the words, 'I must not tell lies' in what he recognised to be Ryuuki's own handwriting. He'd seen that handwriting the night before as they'd worked on what Ryuuki had dubbed, 'The Master Plan'.

Yes, he'd heard of people who for some reason or another decided that it would be a good idea to carve themselves up due to emotional trauma, but he'd never actually had any contact with one. Why on Earth would someone want to carve _that_ into their hand? Why would _Ryuuki_, or _Harry_ _Potter_ to be more precise, want to carve that into his hand?

Unless he _didn't_ want to carve it into his hand. Then what...?

"Ryuzaki! Are you alright? We've called a few times but you seemed rather lost in thought."

L stared at Watari, who was looking rather concerned. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ryuuki was staring at him intently.

"Hmmm. I don't like this car." He brought his other hand up to his mouth, and proceeded to start nibbling his thumbnail, swinging his head around to stare at Ryuuki who had raised his eyebrows. He also absently noted that if he had drawn out the 's' slightly, it would have sounded closer to what he was truly thinking.

"That's because you've never driven it, or sat in it, or even seen the manual. By the way... about that manual... I might need you to skim over it and tell me how my car works. I was never so good at reading large chunks of stuff, especially not technical stuff. Plus the size of the thing quite frankly scares me."

"You drove it without knowing how it works?"

"No, I know how to drive a normal car. It's the _other_ stuff I haven't got a clue about. So, are you going to be taking the limo, or the magically enhanced supercar?"

L wavered slightly, before stating, "I wasn't lying about my cake. It really is in the other car."

"Fair enough. I suppose I'll see you both at the hotel in that case!"

With that, Ryuuki let go of Watari and L's hands, chuckling to himself as they immediately turned away from the car, trying not to look at it.

L and Watari, who hadn't quite reached their car, jumped in shock as the sound of Morpheus' engine roared through the underground car park.

"Watari."

"Yes Ryuzaki?"

"Has your search turned up anything useful?"

"I'm afraid not. It is as if he doesn't exist."

"I thought so. We shall have to keep a close eye on him Watari."

"Have you discovered something?" Watari asked in concern.

"He has a scar on his hand."

Watari observed L carefully as they watched Ryuuki drive Morpheus to the exit.

"I am assuming that this is no normal scar, considering the... multitude that he has." Watari lowered his head and L could see that he was struggling to keep himself in check. L knew that Watari had a rather large soft spot for children and young people, seeing them as the future of the world. He'd started various orphanages across the globe, hoping to give children a safe place to live, willing to use any and all influence that he had to hide the most vulnerable of them, and giving them all opportunities that wouldn't otherwise exist for children like them. L recognised that it must be difficult for Watari to see someone so young who had obviously been so severely mistreated.

"In the car," L muttered in reply, waiting patiently as Watari collected himself, and opened the passenger door for him, waiting for L to climb inside before closing it.

L settled himself comfortably on the leather seat, and quickly poured himself a cup of tea from his travelling flask before Watari started the car, deciding to add the appropriate number of cubes for clear thinking; which for a cup this size, happened to be seven. Years of experience on both their parts ensured that not a single drop of tea fell over the rim of the cup as Watari eased the Limo into city traffic.

"What was it that was so special about this scar that you were speaking of, L?"

L looked up from the swirling mass in his teacup. "There is a scar on the back of his left hand, which reads, 'I must not tell lies', and it is written in his own handwriting."

Watari gave a small gasp. "Are you _certain_ that the handwriting is his own?"

L glared at the back of Watari's head, and almost snapped, "Of course I am sure, Watari. I would not have stated it otherwise."

"My deepest apologies L, you know I trust your judgement. I was just rather surprised I suppose, and wasn't thinking clearly."

L was silent for a few minutes, and it became apparent that Watari was not going to share his opinion on the matter. Perhaps he had gotten too used to Ryuuki spewing out information like a fountain, mostly without needing to be prompted...

"Your thoughts, Watari."

"Without knowing more of his world – or asking him directly – I doubt that we will ever know how he came to have such a scar. Either he did it himself, or perhaps someone forced him to do it."

"I was thinking of the latter as being the more likely scenario."

"Not necessarily. He has been through a lot emotionally, L. Not everyone can handle it, and the average person can only take a certain amount of pressure before they fall under its weight, as you are well aware."

"Harry is not at all average, Watari," L stated. "He went to Hogwarts, and 'I must not tell lies' sounds like something that a naughty child would have to copy. Or possibly one of his kidnappers was a teacher with severe psychological problems involving the desire to control and punish, which again, leads back to Hogwarts. I have no doubts of there being a magical way of inflicting such a scar, and I have even thought of a potential suspect in the matter, based on certain assumptions." L sipped his tea.

"It is true that factoring in the existence of his world makes it less likely that he did it to himself voluntarily. I fail to see how you can possibly have a suspect, but I'm sure you have your reasons, and I wouldn't mind the conversation whilst driving. It's not often that you are with me on my jaunts, after all," said Watari.

L almost smiled as he remembered being a lot smaller, sat in the back seat of Wammy's car outside various police stations, with a laptop in front of him as his guardian dressed up and played 'Watari' inside the buildings.

"Very true, Watari. Show me a _roadworthy_ vehicle that is large enough to hold a reasonable amount of computers discreetly, and that can access my networks from anywhere on the planet without being tracked, and I shall perhaps reconsider," L stated blandly, before adding, "Extra points will be given for there being space to store an adequate selection of food that I find to be edible."

Watari chuckled, and being the inventor that he was, devious thoughts began forming which were put aside for later perusal when L continued speaking.

"My first assumption is that after Harry left Hogwarts to find the pieces of Voldemort's soul, none of his enemies would have been stupid enough to give him something that could potentially be used as a weapon against them. Therefore, based on this assumption, it is most logical that the incident in question occurred when Harry was still a student. If we take that into account, then we must figure out which year it occurred. I doubt that the teacher would still be teaching there, which would rule out most of the staff, and there is a particular year that caught my interest; his fifth year, after Voldemort had returned. The book clearly stated that the Ministry at the time refused to believe that Voldemort had returned, which would be a enough motive for a fanatical Ministry official to decide that engraving 'I must not tell lies' into a child's hand would be a fitting punishment. It just so happens that at the end of Harry's fifth year, one Delores Umbridge was released from her posts as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and High Inquisitor/Headmistress, due to an, 'Unfortunate incident involving several Hogwarts students, reported use of an illegal curse, and an altercation with a herd of Centaurs', immediately prior to an incident at the Ministry involving Harry, his friends, an 'Order of the Phoenix', Death Eaters, and the resurrected Voldemort in person. Furthermore, the Ministry had taken away most of the authority figures that would have been able to help at the time."

Looking in the rear mirror, Watari saw that L was confident of his deductions, and not having had the time to read the book for himself, this more than anything told him that L's theory was probably the closest they would get without asking directly.

"I do admit that under those particular circumstances, your theory would be sound."

"I feel that I am correct Watari, and that she is the one responsible."

L then pulled out his laptop, and Watari knew that the time for conversation had passed.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

At 9.43pm Tokyo time, L was having second thoughts, and was tempted to call off the whole thing. He knew fine well that if he actually did call it off, he'd never hear the end of it from Ryuuki for starters; and yes, there would be a rather large part of him that always wondered 'what if?', and after reading so much about Hogwarts, and the strange effect it seemed to have on the Wizarding population even decades after they had graduated, he was... intrigued. He _wanted_ to see it for himself.

"Right, here's the magical watch. You set it the same way as a muggle watch, and if we get separated then I'll be able to find you easily enough with it on your wrist; but you shouldn't be on your own at any point, so that shouldn't be a problem." Ryuuki gave L a stern glance, and L looked back at him indifferently. He may be curious, but he wasn't stupid. He slowly took the watch between forefinger and thumb, staring at it. It certainly didn't look magical.

"Get ready, we have to synchronise them! 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Go!" said Ryuuki, and they both made sure that the watches were showing exactly the same time. "Now... Like I said, this will feel strange, but just take a deep breath, and close your eyes," said Ryuuki, looking slightly concerned. L nodded, but tensed as Ryuuki moved towards him.

"It is safe?" he asked quietly. Ryuuki nodded.

"I'm only taking us across the city, and I've done this plenty of times. I do have to hold on to you though, and it's easier to just grab you so... shut your eyes, hold your breath, and don't worry."

"Don't worry...? I am about to be disintegrated into tiny particles, transported across the city almost instantaneously, and reassembled at the other end, and you tell me not to worry?"

"You make it sound so technical, and more complicated than it really is. We're going to be late if we don't get going."

Before L could procrastinate further, Ryuuki stepped up to him and grabbed him in a tight hug, and L tensed, slamming his eyes shut against every instinct he possessed – and Ryuuki was spinning them both, and suddenly he couldn't breathe; he was being squeezed and pulled and stretched and squashed and he tried to kick, but he had no legs, he tried to scream, but he had no mouth, and then he heard screaming, and he still couldn't move-

"L! L! IT'S ALRIGHT, you can stop! It's over now! OWW! L! Stop kicking, that _hurts_! Merlin, you're kicks are nasty!"

L stilled suddenly, holding his breath as he opened his eyes, taking in the empty room and the glass doors leading to a balcony that looked over Tokyo. He focussed on the lights, which calmed his frayed nerves slightly, and he started breathing again. A few seconds later he was shocked to realise that the side of his face was pressed against Ryuuki's shoulder, he was holding on just as tightly as he was being held, and that his legs were barely supporting him. He offered no resistance when he found himself manoeuvred into sitting normally for once in an armchair that definitely hadn't been there a moment ago.

"Sorry, but we're on a tight schedule, so-" Ryuuki flicked his wrist and the chair that L was sitting in started to hover, before moving towards the bedroom, "-I'm afraid we'll have to move through here, as planned."

L drew his feet up and used both his hands and his feet to grip the chair tightly. He didn't relax until the door had closed behind him, and the chair had settled on the ground.

"Are you going to be alright?" Ryuuki crouched in front of him, and stared at him in concern. It was... strange. It wasn't a look that had been directed at him by many.

"It was... unsettling. It felt... bad."

"You mean terrifying, right? The first time is always the worst. I almost threw up my first time, so you did really well! _Now_ look at me, I'm popping all over the place!"

"I don't think that I could ever get used to... that."

"Neither did I. There's still time for me to take you back if you're not sure about this."

L, who had regained his usual composure, tilted his head and stared at Ryuuki. "Thank you, but no," he replied monotonously.

"Right, well, now we're just waiting again." Ryuuki made another armchair appear out of thin air. L contemplated.

"You are excited to go to Hogwarts?" L asked nonchalantly.

"Definitely! It's always good to see her again. There's just something about the castle that feels... welcoming. Every time I visit, I suppose it is like going home." Ryuuki said animatedly, with a true smile.

"...Her?" L asked, picking up on the subtle nuances that Ryuuki probably wasn't even aware of letting slip.

"I did wonder if you would pick up on that once I'd said it. Yes, Her. Many people believe that Hogwarts is sentient since it has existed for over a thousand years and many generations of magical students have studied there, with magic constantly seeping into the walls, thereby giving the castle a life of its own."

"What do you believe?" asked L curiously. Ryuuki turned and regarded him silently for a moment before he spoke.

"You don't seem like the type to believe in supernatural things, so I will just say that I believe Hogwarts to be as sentient as anything magical _can_ be. Whether it was designed that way by the Founders or not, there have been times when I have wondered whether or not Hogwarts herself has tried to help me over the years. So many times, actually, come to think of it..."

L looked at his watch. 9.54pm. "Just under one minute," he said, straining his ears for the slightest sound.

"Yeah."

Soon there were two distinct, muffled thumps from the other room, and muted groans of discomfort could be heard through the door. L sat wide eyed, staring straight in front of him and looking out of the window.

"_I severely dislike portkeys. Whoever invented them obviously was not aiming for comfort."_

"_I hate them too, can't stand the things, but then it beats apparating everywhere."_

"_No, it doesn't. Remember to put your other face back on, and leave the signal."_

"_Ah! Thanks for that, I would have forgotten; I'll do my face back at the hotel. Come on, we've got to hurry, are you ready?"_

"_No."_

There was a loud crack, and L finally turned to stare wide eyed at Ryuuki, who just grinned back. L looked at his watch. 9.56pm.

"Thanks for reminding me by the way."

L looked at Ryuuki in confusion, still reeling from the conversation he had just heard.

"About my face, just there. I would have forgotten otherwise, with all this going on," he waved his arms around briefly, before glancing sideways at L with a smirk.

"Want to see something cool?" Without waiting for an answer, Ryuuki rubbed his face with his hands, in a similar motion to someone who was tired, but when he moved his hands away, a different person was staring back at him. His mouth opened slightly in shock, and his thumb flew to his lips, causing Ryuuki... Harry's grin to widen. He looked even cheekier, if that was possible. His hair was the same, and there were similarities to the pictures from the book, but this Harry was an adult whose face had lost those last traces of boyhood that the pictures had shown. His eyes stood out a lot more as they had regained their European shape, and L found himself staring intently, calculating in his mind.

"Hello Harry. I am L."

Harry's grin faltered, and he stared at L. Assessing and evaluating.

"Hello L, I am Harry," he murmured, before averting his eyes, pulling his hair over his scar, and bringing out his locket; ignoring L in favour of saying whatever it was that would turn the locket into a jar.

L was both elated and annoyed. Elated at seeing further proof of one of his theories; and annoyance at being dismissed by the very facet of Harry's personality that he wanted to investigate.

He was distracted rather effectively however when Harry brought out a long, thin chain with an hourglass dangling from it. Harry held it in front of his face, and upon closer inspection he noted that the hourglass was attached to an outer ring of gold, which allowed for it to spin on a central axis that bisected-

"This is the Time-Turner. It spins in the middle, and it should be around both of our necks. We don't need to hold on to each other or anything." Harry looked at him and smiled. "Come on, it will be better out here."

L stared as Harry jumped up and left the room, the door opening by itself before Harry even reached it. L had no choice but to follow. Harry was standing beside the balcony doors, and he gestured for L to come closer.

"It's almost time!"

L looked at his watch. 9.59pm. He stepped closer to Harry and tensed as the thin chain was draped around his neck, Harry holding the device that was going to take them back in time. After all, there was little doubt, he had heard _himself_ speaking not a few minutes ago-

"Look out of the window!"

He looked, and he stared, and he didn't see anything except the usual lights. He turned back to Harry, to see him turning the hourglass and counting under his breath. Harry looked up.

"The window!"

L stared out of the window, and his jaw dropped as everything literally moved backwards. It was utterly... magical. There was no other word for it. Cars were moving backwards, shadows were gradually being replaced by light as the sun reappeared over the horizon before moving higher in the sky. Mt Fuji became visible in the background as the sun rose, lights in tower blocks across Tokyo winked out, the streets filled with echoes of all the people that had walked through them in the last five hours... All within a few seconds...

Even though he'd seen more than enough evidence of magic existing, and he knew the plan, he hadn't realised until that moment that he really _did_ exist in two places at the same time. The ramifications of the conversation he had heard slammed into him like a freight train, realising he'd barely even thought of this earlier- _the_ _first_ _time_ – and _right_ _now_ he was sitting in front of his monitors elsewhere in Tokyo, and yet here he was-

"L, come on! I'm afraid we didn't schedule a panic attack, so snap out of it!"

L suddenly realised that he was dangerously close to hyperventilating, and he concentrated on taking even breaths, knowing that there was worse yet to come. Harry had sounded rather panicked himself, and when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was green.

"Are you alright? Seriously, you could always stay here, and-"

"No I can't. I clearly arrived with you, as I was not here when we arrived, and there were two thumps, and I clearly said-"

"You're panicking again."

"I..."

"Sit, and stop thinking. Just listen. You're right. You will go to Hogwarts, and you will return safely with me. You didn't sound out of sorts when we got back, so nothing bad happened right? And I saw a green light when I walked in. It means everything's alright. It was a dim green, so there was a hiccup or two I'm guessing, but overall green lights are good. So you already know that you've been there, that you're back in one piece, and that you're back here in time for that meeting of yours. So no worries, and _go with the flow_, otherwise you will just traumatise yourself, and Madame Pomfrey would just _love_ to complain about all your little bad habits."

L nodded stiffly, and Harry brought out the spoon that would... nevermind. With no small amount of trepidation, L reached out and grabbed the spoon.

"Marauders Isle."

This time he wasn't being disintegrated – no – he was fully aware that he was being _dragged_ by his _navel_ through a hole that was far too small, and they were hurtling at stupendous speeds – did this count as a wormhole? – and suddenly there was a floor rushing up to meet him, and he screamed for the second time as he covered his face – he was going to _die_ – and then he... bounced...?

L quickly righted himself mid-air and landed on his feet, still bouncing slightly. Looking over at Harry, he was surprised to see the man whooping gleefully as he purposefully kept bouncing, the wooden floor rippling disturbingly underneath him.

"Never been good with-" _bounce_ "-portkeys, so I made the-" _bounce_ "-floor into a tramp-" _bounce_ "-oline, so that I wouldn't-" _bounce_ "-break my neck." _Bounce_. L looked at the floor.

"A wise choice. That was unpleasant," said L. Harry stopped bouncing and gathered his breath, before leading the way to an old-fashioned arched doorway.

"Understatement of the century. I _hate_ portkeys," he stated, opening the door, and shouting "Kreacher!" _crack_. L barely flinched this time. He must be getting used to it. One day he would be shot, and he would probably assume that it was a house-elf after all this.

"You is calling for Kreacher, Master Harry, and you has brought It with you..."

"Yes, and I have brought _Ryuzaki_, but don't worry, we're not staying long. I need you to bring me two particular cloaks, Kreacher. Two of my dark grey fighting ones, just the cloak, mind. The ones with all the enchantments on them."

"I can't be doing that for you, Master Harry."

L stuffed his hands in his pockets, bringing out some jelly beans.

"Why not?" asked Harry, looking bewildered.

"Master Harry is taking his wardrobe with him when he is leaving for Japan."

Harry slapped a hand against his forehead.

"Thank you Kreacher."

"Is you needing anything else, Master Harry?"

"No thank you Kreacher, we'll be leaving now." _Crack_.

"You live here?"

"Yes. I've lived here for about six or seven years I think, I haven't really kept track... It used to be just a couple of rooms, since it was all I could do, but then when I ended up... well... let's just say I found plenty of time to learn more than enough over the years to get this place up to scratch."

Harry turned and started walking, and L quickly caught up to him.

"It's this way to the Apparition point."

They meandered through hallways that L knew couldn't possibly exist without magic. Theoretically they had walked the same square three times, before going through a door that looked just as plain and old-fashioned as the rest he'd seen. It opened out into a passageway, lit by ghostly torches that were eerily pleasant to look at, and gave off a gentle white glow rather than the usual glare of normal orange flames. He stared at them curiously, almost tempted to reach out a hand to see if they were hot.

"Uhm, those were an accident, but then I realised that I liked them better after all... My magic gets playful sometimes, I suppose."

"Amazing... They are like ghost lights..." L murmured absently, staring into their twisted depths.

"Ghost lights... Ghostlights! Hey, thanks! I've been trying to think of a good name for them for months. I got the ghost part, and the light, but never put them together... I was getting fed up of calling them white light torches. 'Ghostlights' is much better!"

"So that was your house?" L asked curiously. Yes there were the corridors, and they were magical, but he had expected... more. Harry stopped, turning slightly.

"Not quite... That was a way into my house. It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you," Harry said seriously, before continuing.

L brought out his phone when Harry wasn't looking, and almost tripped over his own feet as he realised that for the first time in his memory, the tracking devices in his phone had failed spectacularly. Considering that he had no idea where he was, he realised that he was completely cut off from his usual resources, and that he would have no other choice than to rely on Harry. He didn't like it. He hadn't quite felt this trapped before, and Harry hadn't let him bring any weapons since they would be entering a school. It seemed rather unfair, considering that Harry got to have his wand.

"Harry? Why isn't my phone telling me where I am?"

"Because my island is Unplottable, which means that it can't be plotted on any sort of map. There's no such thing as GPS here," he laughed.

L scowled at Harry's back.

"How likely is it that someone from your world will seek Kira's weapon?"

"At the moment, I would say that it's... unlikely. To be honest, heart attacks aren't a major thing for Wizards. The problem is that _we_ know that it has the _potential_ to be a lot more. Right now my world thinks that a muggle has somehow come across a dark artefact of some description that just causes the victim to have a heart attack, nothing more. Therefore the people that would be most likely to go to the effort of tracking it down simply wouldn't deem it as Dark enough for their tastes. Yes, it's impressive, but they've got worse.

"If it gets out that victims could be controlled, or that there are other ways to cause death, then we may have a problem. Also, I'm not taking the bad guys from every country into account here. There's no Dark Lord at the moment so there's nobody to rally them all to a cause, so it's more likely that the Dark families that have avoided Azkaban will lay low, trying to recover their finances and social standing after the trials. There are smaller groups overseas that I am not familiar with, but it wouldn't take long for me to get the information, since I'm Head Auror. The impression that I got though, was that they were more... insular, even if they are considered to be Dark. None of the other species meddle in human affairs, preferring to stay as far away as possible."

"Except centaurs, apparently."

"Yes, although they usually don't meddle. Unfortunately they seem to have latched on to me. They like people with destinies, I think. At least they're not as bad as Trelawney! I think she's turned it into a hobby to think up newer and stranger ways for me to die."

L's mind supplied him with the knowledge that Trelawney taught Divination.

"I suppose we shall have to be extra careful about what information is made available, in both worlds," said L after a few minutes.

"We're almost there... One thing though." Harry held up a finger without looking backwards as he walked. "You can't mention anything sensitive in Hogwarts' halls at all. You never know _who_ or _what_ is listening to you. _Nothing_ stays secret in Hogwarts. The portraits, the ghosts, the suits of armour, students hiding where they shouldn't be; everything is being watched by something, so be careful."

L nodded, staring at the ground in front of his feet as he followed Harry.

"I am assuming that the length of this passage is for defensive purposes."

"You would be correct," floated Harry's voice accompanied by a chuckle. At least that hadn't changed, even if his face and certain other things had. "After all, having a six year old godson can be rather dangerous, you know! He's probably cross at me for being back in Britain and not visiting, but we'll be seeing him soon enough at the Weasley's house."

"About that..." L started.

"Aha! Here we are! Right, this jump is a little further, but hopefully it won't be so bad this time around." Harry threw his trunk on the floor before enlarging it and flipping it open, swiftly plucking out the shrunken wardrobe, which he also enlarged in rapid succession. He then opened the wardrobe door and walked straight in, even though from the outside it just looked like a normal wardrobe.

"How is any of that even possible...?" muttered L before he realised he'd spoken aloud. A shrunken trunk, holding a shrunken wardrobe, which was actually hiding a room?

"Magic!" announced a grinning Harry, stepping back out of the wardrobe. "Here's the cloak, just put the hood up. Where are your shoes?"

L scowled as he took the strange thick cloak, and his scowl worsened as shoes were mentioned. He stared stubbornly. If he had to wear a tent, then he _wasn't_ going to-

"You really want to tromp around barefoot in the Highlands of Scotland, on Hogmanay?" asked Harry, raising his eyebrows and smirking at him.

L glared viciously.

"What, did you think that just because we have magic, we just zip around wherever we like? When both sides have magic, they find ways to rob each other of it or to make it plain awkward for people to access certain areas, like schools for example. We'll be lucky if we get there before nine."

L grudgingly brought his shrunken pair of canvas shoes out of his pocket.

"Can you make these waterproof?"

Harry took the tiny shoes between forefinger and thumb, and returned them to their proper size.

"The middle of the Highlands, deep snow, canvas shoes. How on Earth didn't I notice that when I shrunk them...? Damn it..." he mumbled. "Kreacher!" _Crack_.

"Master Harry calls for Kreacher?"

"Yes, please could you fetch one of the unused pairs of Dragon hide boots? They should be in the duelling room store cupboard."

"I knows, Master Harry." _Crack_.

Harry turned to face a glaring L.

"I know you don't like shoes, but hear me out. These boots are exactly what they sound like, Dragon hide. That by itself is pretty awesome, and then there's the built in cushioning charms, warmth charms, cleaning charms, sizing charms, you name it, it's on those boots," he said, ticking off each feature on his fingers. "Far more comfortable than _these_," Harry emphasised, holding the rather shabby pair of converse.

L watched as they once again shrunk, and he no longer seemed to have a choice, especially since Kreacher had reappeared with the boots, handing them to Harry. Taking his shoes back and putting them in his pocket, he reluctantly held up a hand to take the boots.

"The cloak also has warming spells, and the hoods are spell resistant, so there won't be a case of someone 'accidentally' revealing us, although I don't plan to hide once inside Hogwarts. They will likely assume that you are an Unspeakable from the Ministry, so you being your usual self won't seem odd at all."

Surprisingly, it wasn't as awkward as he thought it would be to pull the boots on, although they were rather big. Better than being too tight, which was going to be the case if they didn't stop... shrinking...

"Harry, they won't stop! Make them stop!" L started tugging frantically at the boots, which seemed to be stuck to his feet. He _hated_ shoes, he _really_ _hated_ them! After all these years – especially since his feet had stopped growing – he'd never expected to have to deal with this sort of thing again.

"Don't! They're supposed to do that! Just wait – they're only fitting themselves!"

Sure enough, the boots stopped without touching the sides of his feet, and L felt like a complete and utter fool. That didn't mean he was happy with having his feet confined. What if-

"It was a one-time-only charm; most Wizarding things are sold that way... Look, I'm really sorry! I didn't mean it to scare you-"

"I wasn't scared," was the quick, low reply. Too quick.

"Right," said Harry dubiously, staring intently at L. "Well, you were at least startled, and I still should have told you about it, but seriously it's just so normal to me now, and magic hasn't really ever scared – I mean, _startled_ – me at all. I'm really sorry! It was an honest mistake, and although I can't guarantee that it won't happen with something else, I can guarantee that there will be sweet things and maybe even cake at Hogwarts... so are you alright? I really _am_ sorry."

L stared at Harry.

"I didn't think that they would stop." It was the only explanation he would give.

"I'm sorry. We should get your cloak on," said Harry quietly.

L shuffled towards Ryuuki, eyeing the cloak distrustfully. One corner of his brain noted that it was rather strange to hear so many apologies in such a short time frame. The word 'time' started several chains of thought, most of which were scientific in nature; but there was one which led to thinking about magic, which brought him back to working out the percentage probability that the cloak would do something nasty to his person.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen. It's already sized to fit me, so it won't change unless it's told to. You're roughly my size, so it shouldn't matter too much. Plus, you've got the only one that hasn't seen a heavy skirmish, so the protective enchantments are stronger on yours."

L nodded, sighing internally as he resigned himself to... 'Going with the flow' temporarily. He got the distinct impression that if he didn't, then he'd either end up embarrassing himself, or losing all concept of reality as he knew it. Perhaps even both.

"Are the boots alright?"

Boots? He looked down, and sure enough he was still wearing the boots... strange.

"It is almost as if I'm not wearing them. It is intriguing... I think you may be right about them being better than my shoes."

"Good, because they're yours, and they're damn good boots. It's not like they will ever fit anyone else now, and too right they're better than your converse! Fit for the muggle world too. Just tell them snake skin or something if asked. At least this way Watari won't kill me for getting you sick, and a certain Madame Pomfrey hopefully won't meet you for a very long time."

L remained silent. There was a seventy-eight percent probability of Harry continuing without prompting, based on his assessment of previous conversations, and a thirty-two percent probability of there being an interesting story or added piece of information attached. In his situation, everything mattered. He'd take what he could get, especially from such a willing source.

"Don't underestimate her, she's extremely territorial. If she thinks you belong in a sickbed, nothing will stop her. I'm still avoiding her from months back; every time I visit I end up running away from her wand, and I even had to learn three new high-level shields. Healing spells can be _nasty_ when used by a pro... try running with numb knees, and if I fall on my face and break my nose, she doesn't care because she'll fix it and blame me for running... _and_ she knows just how to embarrass the average male into coming clean about things you'd rather she didn't know. The woman is _impossible_. Of course, when I'm unlucky enough to need professional help there's nobody I'd trust more to patch me up than Poppy."

Harry turned to look at L. "If she corners us, it's every man for himself; and I've got nothing against throwing you in front of her as I'm running, so best brush up on your posture and lying skills. At least I'll have given you fair warning."

L honestly couldn't tell whether or not the man was joking. He hoped this was one of those joking times. He _hated_ doctors. In an emergency he was always very grateful for their assistance, but as soon as he was lucid he had always planned his escape soon enough, leaving hospital staff baffled over the disappearance of their mute foreigner, dubbed 'John Doe', 'Edgar Poe', 'Mr Noname' or the worst label he had ended up with so far, 'Crack Fight/L'. Back then, he'd almost given himself away when he'd seen that, until he'd overheard a nurse stating that they'd put in the L because it looked as if he had _lost _the imaginary crack fight, since there were no drugs on his person. L for _Loser_.

Considering at the time, that the man who had managed the rare feat of catching him off guard was zipped up in a body bag across the city somewhere (courtesy of a certain overprotective sniper), and that it had been five versus two – one of them with a semi-automatic weapon – he was no _loser_. He'd got off rather lightly with just a shot through the shoulder, facing those odds. They thought he had _lost_? His pride had taken a serious blow that night, and he had briefly considered why he was doing any of this to begin with. This pity party had lasted approximately two hours, before he was ensconced in front of his laptop once more, with an aching shoulder, a large slice of cake, and a new case.

Contemplating recent events, he didn't exactly feel like a loser, since it wasn't really his fault that he knew very little about magic; but he certainly felt out of his depth as he stood and waited for Harry to make sure that his face was properly obscured. He'd gotten past accepting that these things were real, and possible, but now he found himself fixating on the _how_.

"Oi, L! Do I look like your twin again?"

He didn't need to see past the shadows. L could _hear_ the cheeky grin.

"I can't see your face at all."

"Good. Ready?"

"Not really." He couldn't have lied if he tried. He quite possibly hated magical methods of transportation.

"That's a shame, because it's time to go."

Harry gave L a quick look-over, satisfied that the man wouldn't freeze, or be recognised in any way. Subtly, he weaved several wards around him that would both warn Harry of any dangers, and provide a slightly better defence, before stepping forward and putting his arms around L once more. The man tensed, yet said nothing, closing his eyes and holding his breath, face scrunched up in distaste already.

"Here we go..."

Just before he turned, he felt L suddenly wrap his arms tightly around his waist. Harry just smiled slightly before they both disappeared with a sharp crack that echoed down the passageway.

**A/N:** I know that there's a whole bunch of you hoping for slash of some sort, but no. No slash, and I do think it's possible for two people to trust each other and to be great friends without feeling the need to get in each other's pants. No matter what it may look like, it's not romantic in the slightest! I do however want to give them both a friend. It's not fair for L to spend most of his life chasing psychos without even one decent proper friend, and as for Harry I've always thought that Ron and Hermione don't really suit him. There are certain aspects of Harry's life that I don't feel that they can fully understand (like the Dursleys) and especially with them getting married and having kids, Harry would be on his own, and making new friends would be hard for him because of the fame thing. The only reason I took Ginny out of the way was because a wife and kids would have severely messed with my story, and Harry wouldn't be as alone as he needs to be.

And the reason why L was sad? Simply, he wants _nice_ dreams, probably involving cake for all I know. They have a potion to take them away, but not to give nice ones... Nobody guessed it! I imagine L as someone who _does_ have feelings and such, but just isn't able to recognise or articulate them, therefore avoiding or ignoring situations that he finds difficult.

As always, thank you very much to those who review, or add me to various lists! Especially the consistent reviewers, thanks for coming back! Your comments are amazing!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Hello, sorry about the wait, but the next chapter was delayed due to ill health! I felt a bit better so I got it done, and so now I can post this! I hope you like this chapter as much as I do!

**Chapter 12**

When it felt as if the world had stopped spinning, L opened his eyes and noted that they appeared to be standing in a sea of white.

"Wow, she could have at least warned me about the blizzard... Come on, it's this way," said Harry loudly, letting go of him before bringing out his wand and aiming it at the ground in front of him, flicking it upwards as he walked. The snow in front of them started to move itself to the side of what now appeared to be a frozen dirt road. L could make out some huge trees through the white swirls; presumably the Forbidden Forest that Harry had spoken of.

"Do the spiders come out of the forest on this side?" He almost had to shout to be heard over the sporadic gusts of wind.

"No, they're on the other side of the lake! Hang on, I need to tell them we've arrived," was shouted back.

They stopped in the middle of the path, and again the massive stag appeared in front of them.

"Listen Prongs, I need you to find the Headmistress and give her this message: We're outside the gates, and we'd like to be let in before we're buried and you have to send a search party. Thanks!" Harry shouted. Prongs bowed and ran swiftly down the road, before pausing in the distance.

Harry grinned. "We're in luck! She must be out on the grounds!"

L was glad. In fact he was glad for many reasons, he realised. He'd always liked the snow, the deeper the better, and here he was surrounded by tonnes of it. He could barely feel the boots on his feet, and his feet were nice and toasty, rather than cold and wet. The hood of the cloak didn't let any snow blow into his face, and it too kept him warm without being too heavy and constricting, unlike the jacket, hat, scarf, and gloves that Watari insisted on. He found that if he buried his hands into the sleeves of the cloak, and scrunched them closed, that he didn't need gloves at all.

They set off again, with Harry in front clearing the snow, and soon enough they reached the gates, where there was a rather severe looking woman wearing bottle green robes and a pointy hat. She truly looked like the stereotypical Witch, and L found it amusing.

"Happy Hogmanay, Minnie McG! Ooh that one's got a ring to it out loud, don't you think? I might have to keep that one."

"I've said it many times before and I'll say it yet again, Mr Potter, but yet again I doubt that you will take any notice! I really do wish that you would choose another way to verify your identity! Your Patronus would have been sufficient, although I daresay that you remain the only ex-student of mine that would ever dare to refer to me as 'Minnie McG' - or whatever travesty your mind happens to conjure - straight to my face, and expect to come away from the encounter with only two legs, and not necessarily living ones at that! You'd make an excellent side table in my office, Mr Potter." The woman waved her wand in a complicated pattern, and L froze as the winged _stone_ boars at either side of the gate flapped their wings and seemed to stare at him. Slowly, the wrought iron gates split down the middle, and opened just enough for them to slip through, which they did with haste.

"Aww, come on, don't make me call you out on that one, I know fine well that you can't wait to see what I'll come up with next! Plus, I know plenty of shields."

"Don't be so sure, Harry. I still have one or two tricks left that would surprise even you. I assume that this would be the 'Him' that Firenze was referring to?"

"Uhm, yeah, sorry... Minerva, this is my friend Ryuuzaki, but you can just call him Steve."

"Ryuuzaki is fine," said L, shooting Harry a glare that could be felt more than seen, due to their cloaks.

"Very well, I'm pleased to meet you Mr Ryuuzaki, and welcome to Hogwarts! A carriage should be arriving soon, but Hagrid has to travel a bit further for the Thestrals these days I'm afraid. I hope you have a good plan, Harry."

"Honestly? It was great until I remembered the snow. But then I'm sure I'll figure that out." Minerva shook her head with a resigned look.

"And the Chamber? Is it really necessary?" she asked, nervously.

"Yes. It's been a while and I need a reminder. Is it still warded?"

"I have removed the majority of the wards, leaving a couple that should only take you a few minutes to dismantle, but would baffle any curious students. The entire corridor has been sectioned, and the students have been told that there is a Myrtle issue."

"Brilliant ghost, that one! Shout 'Code Myrtle!' and everyone knows to beware of the exploding toilets!" Harry said with a big grin, making the older woman smile slightly. With the slight delay, L got the impression that she was smiling more at Harry than at what he had said. Foolish woman, couldn't she see it was all false?

"How many students are here?" Harry added softly, and a little sadly, and the tone roused L's insatiable curiosity.

"There are twenty-four staying this year, seventeen of them from the House. Will you be...?" she started awkwardly, intriguing L all the more.

"I'm not sure Minerva; I will try and make the time, but I can't promise anything. At the very least I should be able to make it at some point during the next week, like how 'Mione managed in third year."

Minerva looked at Harry sharply, assessing him before nodding slightly. L tried to make sense of everything, and he swore he could remember Harry telling him that those at Hogwarts shouldn't know of their time travelling.

"Adequate rest this time Harry, and I mean it! You had Poppy in hysterics the last time; she even had your bed made ready for you, and kept it that way for a week in case she caught you."

Harry groaned.

"Oh, and speaking of injuries Mr Potter, you have finally succeeded in driving Professor Vector up the wall! She was muttering something about showing you the, ahem, 'business end of her wand' the next time she sees you. Apparently she's had to rewrite entire lesson plans to take your 'project' into account, involving many hours spent poring over books in the library. She is not best pleased."

"Well I'm almost sure they won't be able to crack it this time! I learnt my lesson, Minnie, honest! And I'm terribly sorry that I practically funded that year of pranks, but it really was for a good cause!"

"A trinket, Mr Potter, no matter how clever, is nowhere near a good enough excuse for the utter mayhem you incited in this school! Although congratulations, judging by the state of the Ravenclaws this year, I think you may have your... network, was it?"

"Yep! Although if they crack it this time, I might just have to hire whoever it is..."

"You - you will not be... _poaching_ my students Mr Potter! At least wait until they have graduated!" she spluttered indignantly. Personally, L didn't see a problem. He watched avidly as Harry pretended to smile again. It was becoming much easier for him to pinpoint when Harry was being sincere in his emotions, especially when his strangeness wasn't directed at him.

"Nothing wrong with having a part time job, muggle students do it all the time!" Another fake grin.

"Granted, a few of our more... arrogant students could do with a swift reminder about the meaning of hard work; the penmanship gets worse by the year, including yours Mr Potter!"

"Could you please stop 'Mr Potter'-ing me like a first year? I was in a rush when I wrote that note, so it wasn't exactly to your usual standards, but it was legible, so you can't fault me on that!"

"I think not Mr Potter, and good penmanship can only say good things about the writer."

"Yes, but you know far too much as it is, so I'll hide my goodness under my bad penmanship until further notice. I hope you weren't waiting for us in this weather?"

"No indeed I was not, Harry. I was out with Filius making sure that the lake would safe for skating on, and erecting the barriers. Thankfully the centre of the lake isn't frozen solid, otherwise we would have been cutting a hole for the squid."

L looked down the road and noticed a black shape in the distance.

"Harry..."

Harry and the Headmistress followed his line of sight.

"Ah, good. Hagrid was able to find a Thestral without too much trouble I see," said the Headmistress.

As the carriage came closer, L was able to make out that the beast pulling it was rather skeletal, and horse-like in nature. Harry turned to face him.

"I assume that you can see what's pulling the carriage?"

The Headmistress looked interested in his reply.

"Yes."

"My condolences, Mr Ryuuzaki," she said. L's thumb flew to his mouth as he looked to Harry, who thankfully got the hint.

"Only people who have witnessed death firsthand can see them. Welcome to the club, I suppose. It's a rather morbid club, but still."

The carriage came to a stop, and the door opened. Harry gestured for the Headmistress to go first, which she accepted gratefully. Then L climbed in, followed by Harry, who shut the door. Then they began the trek to Hogwarts.

"How are things coming along in Japan?"

"Getting there Minerva. I can't say much more than that I'm afraid. What did the Acromantula do this time?"

"One of the fifth years staying over the holidays encountered one of them on the Quidditch Pitch, lurking behind the stands. It tried to attack him as he was leaving the pitch, but luckily he had his broom and flew up to one of the towers. That night it brought its friends, and the school was put in lockdown. One or two, we can handle without trouble, but twenty or more of the creatures are a bit much unless we involve the older students, which is an unacceptable solution."

"So then you called the Aurors?"

"I spoke to young Mr Weasley, who was most unhelpful, I have to say."

"Yes, he's afraid of spiders. Especially after our second year! We _so_ should have died! Thank Merlin that car got us out."

"I do not believe I've had the pleasure of learning about this incident Mr Potter," Minerva said crisply. "Fortunately we have time." She was outright glaring at him by now. "And hood down, please. If you think you're hiding behind there, you're wrong."

Harry sighed before reaching up and pulling his hood down.

"Much better, Mr Potter, now you may proceed to enlighten me."

Harry looked sheepish. L watched from behind his shadows, tempted to smirk. He knew this would be good.

"Uhm, well in second year, when everyone was getting petrified... Er, someone told me and Ron to 'follow the spiders' so we, uhm, kind of did."

L was amused to note that Minerva's frown was darkening into a glare, and that Harry was biting the corner of his bottom lip, avidly avoiding her eyes.

"We found lines of spiders leaving the castle, and followed them into the forest-"

"The _Forbidden_ Forest, by any chance Mr Potter?"

"Yes Professor McGonagall, that would be the one," Harry said, grimacing and looking out of the window. Therefore he missed her slight smirk at being called 'Professor McGonagall', which L had no trouble spotting.

"Continue Mr Potter, we already know that you both survived, so let's hear it."

"Well, the deeper we went into the forest, the more spiders there were, and Ron was pretty shaken up by this point, but we kept walking until we came to these webs, and there was this giant spider who turned out to be Aragog, and I'd seen in one of Riddle's memories that Hagrid had been expelled for keeping a monster at the school."

"_Excuse_ me Mr Potter? One of Riddle's memories, in your second year?"

"Yeah, Myrtle said that a girl threw a diary at her, and she gave it to me. Turned out it was Tom's first horcrux, and it showed me a memory of him telling on Hagrid the first time that the Chamber opened."

"For goodness sake Mr Potter, how a child could attract so much trouble, I have no idea, but you certainly managed it! What happened with this Aragog? This is the same one that Hagrid was lamenting over in your sixth year, was it not?"

By this stage, L was pretty sure that Hagrid had been the one to tell them to follow the spiders.

"The very same. He was very old, and very blind, but had plenty of children willing to eat us. He said that he 'dared not speak its name' when asked about the monster, and all we figured out was that Aragog wasn't the real monster, and that Hagrid definitely hadn't opened the Chamber the first time round. So then came the fun part: getting out of there. We blasted a few, Ron was panicking, I wasn't far behind him, and then suddenly Arthur's old Ford Anglia came barrelling through and opened its door for us."

"The flying one you both crashed into the Whomping Willow in your second year?" she asked with a glare. Harry laughed nervously.

"Yeah, the same one. Went feral in the forest apparently, and threw us out as soon as we were out of the forest, but it got us out of there, and squished a whole load of spiders along the way. I haven't seen it since. You'll be pleased to know that the Whomping Willow got its revenge in my third year though! Knocked the stuffing out of me."

"I'll say this Harry; Lily would have been at her wits end, but I get the feeling that James would have been cheering you all the way," Minerva said resignedly.

Harry laughed and smiled sadly. "I reckon you're right." It was then that L decided to speak.

"Harry... you are possibly the unluckiest, yet luckiest man alive. With your common sense as a child, I'm surprised you're still alive, and in one piece."

"Now that's debateable, Ryuzaki. I _did_ die, after all."

Minerva tsk'd in disapproval, and the rest of the journey was silent.

The carriage rolled to a stop, and the three of them climbed out. L stared in awe at the massive doors, and his gaze was drawn upwards to stare at the numerous towers he could see, stretching towards the clouds and almost invisible in the snow. The doors opened a crack, and he heard a squeaky voice shouting.

"Minerva, there you are! Come inside dear, it's going to get slightly heavier before stopping at exactly three minutes to eleven!"

"Thank you Filius!" she called back. Soon they were inside the entrance hall.

"Morning Filius!"

"Ah, good morning Harry! Was that spell of any use?"

"Yes, thanks Filius. Is 'Mione here yet?"

"I'm afraid not, Harry. She sent a message ten minutes ago saying that she had something to finish first."

"Thanks! Is breakfast over?"

"Not yet Harry, it's holiday hours!"

"In that case I'll see you later!" Harry waved and proceeded to drag L to the Great Hall.

"Sorry but it's been ages since I had Hogwarts food! The kids should be in their common rooms so we won't be-"

"It's Harry Potter!"

"-disturbed... Hello everyone... right, let my friend and I here have some breakfast, and then-"

"Who's that then?"

"Ah, him?" Harry jerked his thumb towards Ryuzaki. "He knows sign language, and you never know when you'll come across a deaf person."

The kids all looked at Harry with scrunched faces.

"Yeah, right! Last time you told us that your house-elf was your bank manager in disguise!" said a boy in Ravenclaw colours.

"Yes, and I've since found out that my house-elf would rather be mistaken for a Goblin than a Gnome." This received a few confused looks, and a couple of understanding nods.

"My Aunt says you should have stayed as Head Auror. Anything to keep that Weasley out of the Ministry," said a Ravenclaw girl.

"I take it you mean George... Unfortunately I have to be gone for a rather long time, and I can only hop back every now and again; also rather unfortunately the previous Head is currently teaching you Defence. What has he been doing? I've only been gone for a few days!"

"Don't tell George Weasley, but my Aunt says there's a new infestation of Pygmy Puffs, and that he's got the Aurors scoring points for how many times they can put a hex on Ron Weasley without him noticing."

"Ha! Well, Miss Cunningham, in that case I'll be asking him for pictures and I'll overlook the infestation until it goes further than one store cupboard. I owe Ron a few."

The kids giggled.

"Can we watch you sort the spiders out?" came next, followed by a chorus of "Yeah!" and "Come on! It's the holidays!"

"Hey, hey! It's not up to me, I don't run this school!"

There was a chorus of dismay from the students, and even one, "Why not!"

"You'll have to ask the staff, I'm afraid, but it's likely that you'll be stuck in here for a little while longer. I know something you don't know though, but I'm going to leave it as a surprise."

"You can't do that!" said a Gryffindor.

"It's rather unfair to tell us that, and then leave us hanging!" said a Ravenclaw.

"Pleeeeease?" said a small Hufflepuff girl.

"Oooh, a couple of weeks practice on that doe-eyed look and you'll have them eating out of your hands!" said Harry, grinning down at her.

A Slytherin stepped forward.

"If you convince them to let us watch, that would then mean that we owe you something, right?"

Harry tilted his head interestedly.

"Theoretically, if one someone does another someone a favour, then it's only fair that it should be returned. I'm listening."

Some of the students started whispering, before the Slytherin boy spoke up.

"If you get us a good view, we'll help on your next project for free."

Harry contemplated.

"This is a group decision?" He asked. The students all nodded seriously.

"In that case, you have yourselves a deal, on the condition that you keep the details of whatever project it would be a complete secret. No blabbing things around the school, alright?" Frantic nodding. "I'll see what I can do. They won't let you leave the castle, but I have an idea! I'll do my best. Now scram!" he said, grinning.

The Slytherin boy spoke again, and they all paused.

"How will we know?"

Harry grinned at the boy.

"You just will."

The boy nodded trustingly, before they turned as a group and left the hall, conversing in low whispers.

"Interesting group of students. Why was their skin all different colours?" L asked curiously.

"A certain group of students rigged the showers as a prank," Harry replied with a true smile. "Those particular students are mostly orphans from the war, with a couple of muggleborn orphans. They've become rather close, even with them being in all four houses," said Harry, piling sausages, bacon, eggs, beans and waffles onto his plate. It was the most that L had ever seen him attempt to eat.

"It's very rare that students associate with those outside of their house to the degree that they do. Even family members tend to slowly drift apart over the years, but the orphans all stick together. There's a couple more that haven't started here yet, but I'm sure that they will be included in the group when they arrive. Sophie has a distant Aunt that she lives with now, but until we located her Aunt she stayed with the others, so she's one of the few that we managed to find family for."

"Wouldn't the families come forward when the war was over?" L decided that pancakes were the only edible thing available, and piled some on his plate.

"The thing is, a lot of the muggleborn Witches and Wizards decided to flee to the muggle world in the hopes that they wouldn't be found. They cut themselves off completely, knowing that if they were found, they would be killed. Most returned within a few years, having decided to check on things, but there are probably still a few out there that don't know that the war has ended yet. Some people sent their children to muggle orphanages before being hunted down and killed, or some even spelled muggles to believe that they had relatives who died, leaving them with the child to look after... There's also a few whose parents were sentenced to Azkaban, or who died as Death Eaters." Harry stopped talking, and dug into his food, and L searched the table for anything resembling a syrup bottle.

Harry looked up from his food, looked at L's plate, and grabbed a nearby gravy-boat. Finishing his mouthful he inquired, "Toffee sauce?" L nodded, and Harry continued. "Pour as much as you want, it refills itself."

L took the sauce and paused.

"It... refills itself?"

"You complete glutton. You'd have a refillable cake and sweet shop if you could, wouldn't you?"

"...Yes, although it would be closed to the public, and would be less of a shop and more of a factory." L replied absently, concentrating on drowning every inch of visible pancake in toffee sauce. Harry laughed heartily and continued working his way through the food on his plate, soon finishing and sighing in satisfaction. L however didn't look like he would be finished until the entire stack of pancakes that were available had been eaten. Glancing at the staff table, Harry spotted a copy of the Daily Prophet that had obviously been left there, and summoned it to read while L finished his last four pancakes.

"Oh dear... Yes, that really was a terrible crash landing. Well, that's a bit tragic... Wonder how she refrained from commenting on that!"

"What has happened Harry? Is it something serious?" asked L, his loaded fork pausing in mid-air. Harry noted that it was the same fork that L usually kept in his pocket.

"A bit... I'll have to pop round the world for a while I think."

"What has happened?"

Harry passed over the newspaper, and L was greeted by a moving picture showing... a fireplace with roaring green flames, and Harry barrelling out rather dangerously, only to land gracefully and smile sheepishly at the other occupants of the photograph, before quickly darting out of the picture. The headline "POTTERS LANDINGS STILL NOT SO FLOO'ID" glared at him from the page, with a smaller 'Lord Potter spotted exiting the Japanese Floo Terminal earlier this week!' He read the article as he absently munched on his pancakes.

"That's a terrible headline."

"There have been worse. I think there is still a running poll on which of my scars is uhm... more _appealing_... the lightning bolt was way out in front last time someone forcefully assaulted my ears with the information." Harry was physically cringing, and L could see why. It was obvious that Harry didn't like being in the spotlight. At least, not in this way.

"Your world knows where you are," said L, muffled by the amount of food he'd crammed into his mouth. Harry was pleased to note that no chewed up food was visible from the outside because of the shadows.

"Yes. I didn't do the whole face thing until I was in the apartment, and my ID pack was in Morpheus, which was under the apartment block, and unfortunately my landings are the stuff of legend. That picture was probably taken by a particularly nasty little species of reporter; the ones that pop up no matter where you go... Hang on, why am I telling you this? You can probably count the number of people that have seen your face on one hand."

"..."

"That's just... you're missing out on so much, you know?"

"Like this?" stated L flatly, dangling the newspaper in front of Harry's face between his forefinger and thumb.

"You seriously have no concept of personal space, do you? That's so close that I can't even focus on it. Oh and just because you are _that_ _kind_ _of_ _guy_, doesn't mean you have to shut yourself away like a hermit. Yes, you stick out like a sore thumb, but so what? It's not like someone can point at you and call you out in the street. Plus, you're probably more likely to get found out by some random burglar, who happens to see all your stuff; complete with the huge logo and you sitting there surrounded by insane amounts of cake and sweets."

L passed the paper back.

"Actually the person who took this picture was an old lady named Betty Mae Silverfern from Broom's End in Hogsmeade. It was recommended that she visit the Herbology gardens in Tokyo, since reputedly they have several different varieties of Dragon's Breath bulbs. The picture was an automatic reaction to the fuss, and it wasn't until she developed it that she realised who it was. Thanks to the Daily Prophet, she won't have arguments with her husband over the budget allocated for their garden for the next ten years."

"Uhm... I suppose that's alright then. Still, I hate reporters."

"Background checks were also carried out for the staff and guests beforehand and I do so every time. The monitors are carefully positioned so that nobody can see in from outside."

"Yes, because nobody can sneak in, right?"

"That's why I choose the location. The cameras will pick up the movement long before they get anywhere."

"Still, someone could get lucky."

"It has never happened before, and I highly doubt that it will happen in the near future."

"Ooooh you've gone and done it now. Now that you've said that, you've doomed us! It never happening before means you're due for it soon!"

"...You are very strange."

"Says the eccentric guy."

L would have replied, but he was distracted by the sound of footsteps, and a brown haired woman walking into the hall.

"Harry! Sorry I'm late, but I had a slight breakthrough and it was such a critical stage that I couldn't leave it."

"No worries, 'Mione. 'Mione, this is 'Ryuuzaki', Ryuuzaki, this is 'Mione," said Harry, gesturing with his hands. Hermione turned to L and smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ryuuzaki. I hope he hasn't overwhelmed you or anything, I know that finding out about all this can be rather... daunting, and it must have been rather sudden for you."

"It's... fine." L's thumb found its way to his mouth, and Hermione smiled slightly as it disappeared behind shadows.

"Right, are we all going down?" asked Hermione in her business voice.

"Do you want to come with us Ryuuzaki, or would you rather not? Minerva wouldn't mind if you waited in her office. After all, it's not like we can go out until the snow stops."

L nibbled his thumb, and decided that staying close to Harry would be best. He would rather not be locked in an office.

"I will go with you. Although I refuse to move from this seat until all of these pancakes have been consumed."

"Wouldn't dream of it Ryuuzaki! Should take you what, two minutes at most?" Harry grinned at him as Hermione looked on incredulously, staring as L cut through four pancakes at a time, eating huge wedges of pancake that were absolutely drenched in toffee sauce, to the point where the drips formed an almost continuous line down to his plate.

"Forty seven seconds actually," remarked L as he chewed his last mouthful. "I cannot put a dirty fork in my pocket, Harry."

Harry snorted and flicked a wandless cleaning spell at L's fork, as Hermione still stood, staring between them both. L stared at his hand, wondering if Harry had meant to clean that too. In fact, he was pretty sure he'd dripped sauce on the cloak, and that was now clean. Whether it was the cloak itself, or Harry's spell, he wasn't sure.

Harry and L stood, and the three of them started walking.

"What do you think of the ceiling?" asked 'Mione. Usually L hated small-talk, but since he hadn't actually looked at the ceiling yet, he soon found himself thankful for it. He stopped, and stared up into whirling snow clouds that vanished long before they reached the ground, finding himself drawn into the patterns, following the swirls and spirals before they disappeared.

A few feet away, Harry put up a silencing charm that would stop L from hearing their conversation, and spoke to Hermione.

"He can't hear us... 'Mione, this guy is definitely smarter than your average bear... It's insane! He reads books by just _glancing_ at the pages! I'm out of my league, here!" he murmured.

Hermione grinned at him.

"It's called skimming. Honestly Harry, you've done it yourself!"

"I know skimming Hermione, and that was no skimming. The guy was _reading_."

"Hm. If you say so Harry. Shouldn't we be bringing him back down to Earth?"

"Nah. Let him have his moment," Harry replied vaguely, and Hermione looked at him sharply.

"Spill it Potter."

"Uhm... I don't know if I should be saying anything. I don't even know if there's a problem! All I know is that it's like he's half a person or something. Like something major just isn't there. Maybe I'm just looking into things too much... So just let him have his moment. I'll take the spell down when he comes back."

Hermione nodded, and they both stood quietly watching for a few minutes as L stared up at the ceiling, before he seemed to give himself a shake and turned towards them.

"It's... impossible. Where does it go? I'm guessing that the ceiling is transparent from this side and that it's solid looking in from the outside..." L turned back to look at the ceiling again. "Somewhat like a one-way mirror... and that the actual ceiling is whatever piece of magic is causing the snow to vanish, only it can't be seen, which gives this effect... but the question is, where does that snow go?" he finished, sounding slightly frustrated.

Hermione stared in shock, and Harry looked at her smugly, as if to say 'I _told_ you so'. She quickly recovered however, and happily told him what she knew.

"It was enchanted by the Founders of the school just over a thousand years ago, but that is a wonderful theory from someone who has never seen it before! We all see it as children, and then it becomes normal I suppose... You'll find that in the beginning, it is just easier to accept things as they are before trying to unravel them. In Hogwarts, there isn't much that can be explained in muggle terms, unfortunately. It _is_ logical, but logical in a magical sense. The whole ceiling is an enchantment. It can reflect the weather outside, or an unnaturally clear night sky, and there has even been the odd thunderstorm."

"I understand," L said, even though he didn't, and liked his theory better.

"Stuff can fall from it too. Ugh, remember that stupid confetti when Lockheart was here?" Harry said with a grimace.

"Hmm yes, I definitely preferred the snow at the Yule Ball in fourth year," Hermione replied.

"Then we are agreed, Lockheart is an ass, even without his memories! Now, let's go and say hello to Myrtle!" With that, Harry pointed down the corridor dramatically and started walking.

Hermione just shook her head and followed, whilst L slouched behind, staring at the ground and chewing on his thumb. They came to the Grand Staircase, and Harry stopped, waiting for L to catch up.

"Ryuuzaki, you might want to look up again."

Look up he did, and a slight bolt of fear froze him in place as his mind registered what must be tonnes of rock shifting above his head.

"What in the..."

"Welcome to our next stop on the Hogwarts Tour, the aptly named 'Grand Staircase', the bane of tardy students and teachers alike! Be amazed as the staircase you are standing on decides to dump you on a totally different floor than the one you were aiming for! Laugh in delight as your fellow student gets stuck in one of the trick steps, or groan in dismay as you wait endlessly for the staircase that never comes!"

"No."

Both Harry and Hermione turned to look at him, but it was Harry who decided to ask.

"No what?"

"I'm not going on that thing."

"Would you rather I float you up there instead?"

L sighed in resignation. "I will take my chances on the stairs. Which one?"

"Hang on. HEY EGGLEBERT! WAKE UP, WILL YOU!" Harry shouted loudly, and it echoed far above them.

"Harry, not this again, it's _never_ going to work, I _told_ you, it's random!" hissed Hermione in exasperation.

"Potter! Just the man! I'll be down shortly!" an overly-excited voice replied.

"Merlin's staff, you did it didn't you? Egglebert you absolute star! Come on then, let's hear it!"

L watched bemused as Harry practically floated over to a huge picture frame, which was soon filled by a portly old Wizard dressed in turquoise robes with silver stars, complete with matching pointy hat. He noted that 'Mione looked like she wanted to drag Harry away.

"Yes, yes young Potter, I've been right on the nose for three days now, and I'm not going to let you ruin my lucky streak! Name it!"

"Right, Egglebert! Second floor, Myrtle's bathroom!"

The Wizard in the portrait hummed, before stating, "Jump on this staircase, and wait till it moves; should only be... a two minute wait! If you go straight up, it's an extra five minutes all told... then hop up staircase four which should be moving in just under a minute, then quickly down three before it changes, and you'll be there!"

"Right, you heard the man, up we go!"

They climbed halfway up the first staircase and waited, Hermione looking disapproving.

"Harry, I really don't think..." began Hermione.

There was a rumbling sound, and one of the staircases above them shifted.

"That's staircase four in place!" Egglebert announced.

"Hold on Ryuuzaki! When we go up the next one, miss the first step and go up two steps at a time, that way you'll miss the trick steps. If you land on a trick step, your foot gets stuck and we'd have to pull you out, not to mention missing our connection!" Harry exclaimed, grinning. L grabbed onto the side of the staircase. Suddenly he was clinging on for dear life as the staircase detached itself from the upper landing, pivoted at its base, and connected to another platform that the base of staircase four had just attached itself to.

"Hurry hurry hurry! Three will be shifting in two minutes!" called the painting, and L was startled to realise that it was following them up the stairs, hopping from frame to frame. The painted wizard changed sizes for each one; one frame he would be a foot tall, the next he would be life size, before shrinking down to three foot tall. The other occupants of the portraits were shouting out complaints as they were shoved aside, L taking it all in as they dashed up and down the staircases. He sent a silent plea to whoever was listening that the stairs wouldn't shift until he was safely off them.

Seconds after they reached the correct landing, the staircase that they had just finished running down detached from the ledge and moved away. L stared over the edge.

"Ryuuzaki, come on, it's this way. Oh and Egglebert, you're a genius! Brilliant work!"

"I know young Potter! Isn't it fantastic? Such a pity that I've been dead for eight hundred years! I must go, staircase seven is due any moment!"

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to miss that. It would throw off all your calculations!"

"Too right, young Potter!"

"Harry, have you done something to those stairs? There is no logical way he could have worked it out, it's completely random!" asked Hermione, "And he's just a _portrait_!"

"I swear to you I have done nothing to those stairs! Plus he's not just a portrait; he's an eight hundred year old portrait, who's 'lived' longer than most! I'm betting he's learned a _lot_ about Hogwarts over the years! Plus he's an arithmancy fanatic, even as a portrait." Harry lightly skimmed the walls with his fingertips as he walked.

"Plus you just finished telling me that magic has its own logic. If that is true, then with enough time and patience, it only makes sense that it would be possible to predict where and when the staircases would move next," mumbled L from behind his thumb.

Harry piped in with a "What he said!" as Hermione struggled for words.

"Well, I only really meant that it was highly improbable, with the nature of magic being so chaotic to begin with."

"No, I distinctly recall you saying that it was 'never going to work', not that it was improbable."

"Oh come on, don't start bickering! Leave the staircases to Egglebert, we're there," Harry interjected before L managed to completely infuriate Hermione.

They soon bypassed the wards that were blocking the corridor from any curious students, and L found himself standing in front of what was clearly a _girl's_ bathroom.

"It's a girl's bathroom Harry."

"Yes, it is."

"None of the books said anything about it being a girl's bathroom Harry."

"No, I don't suppose they did," agreed Harry amiably. "Shall we?" Hermione just looked amused.

L sighed, before following the other two.

The bathroom was terribly run down, and L was disgusted to note that there was an inch of water on the floor. The stalls all had old wooden doors, and various tiles around the sinks were chipped. Taps which had once been shining were now dull and tarnished, and the entire room felt dirty. He watched as Harry approached a certain sink, bringing out his wand as seemed to be feeling for something in the air. Suddenly there was a bright flash.

"Right, that's the wards down. Did you bring your broom, 'Mione?"

"Unfortunately."

Harry closed the bathroom door, waving his wand in various complicated patterns before tracing the outline of the door.

"Right, that's sealed. Since neither of you have ridden the Chamber Express I'll warn you that it's the biggest slide ever. I'll clean it on the way down, but I can't guarantee a soft landing. Just... try not to touch the ground when you get there." The others nodded warily, and Harry turned to the sink. L told himself that if Harry could do it at twelve, then he could do it now. Hermione was telling herself that if Ron of all people could do it at twelve, then she could do it now... Harry however was anticipating the ride to come, hoping that his cleaning charms would be enough.

_*Open*_ he hissed.

L noticed that Hermione winced ever so slightly, but was prevented from further contemplation by the sink suddenly starting to sink into the ground, leaving a gaping, dirty hole in the floor. Thankfully, Harry wasted no time at all, and cleaned it.

"Right, I'll go first, and you can figure out who goes next between you."

With that, Harry sat on the edge of the hole, and disappeared, a great whooping cheer echoing up the pipe, strangely distorted as it gradually grew further and further away.

"Are you alright to go, or would you rather go last?" Hermione asked.

In reply, L sat on the edge of the pipe, and mentally counted to three before letting himself fall, once again sending a wordless plea to anyone that was listening. The pipe wasn't completely clean, but if this was the pipe after it had been cleaned, then he was glad that Harry had done so.

Unlike Harry, he felt no urge to shout or cheer, although his heart beat faster in his ears and his breath was coming out in gasps. The various twists and turns actually became rather relaxing after a while. He could hear Hermione shrieking a good way behind him, and guessed that she had needed to overcome her fear first. It was rather admirable. It must have been that strength that had seen her through the years; although if she wasn't careful, that initial hesitance could cost her dearly at some point in the future.

His internal musings screeched to an abrupt halt as he realised that he was no longer sliding, but flying through the air. He saw a bright light before he was suddenly halted mid-flight.

"Caught you! Is 'Mione far behind?"

"She will arrive in thirty four seconds. I would prefer to be standing upright, rather than hovering in the air."

"Ah, sorry."

It was rather disturbing to turn mid-air with no discernable outside force, but soon his feet were on the ground, and he could see that he was standing in a plain stone room that was half covered in bones. The shrieking grew gradually louder, and L wondered how the woman could still breathe.

"Oh dear, she doesn't sound too happy. Excuse the bones, but trust me; it was a lot worse." Harry made the room slightly brighter, and stood waiting at the mouth of the pipe. Suddenly a shrieking tangle of limbs came flying out of the pipe, and Harry stopped her mid-air.

"Calm down 'Mione! You're at the bottom, and I've got you!"

Hermione abruptly stopped screaming.

"That was _awful_!" she gasped. Soon she was standing on rather wobbly legs. "This is disgusting," she remarked, scrunching her nose as she stared around the room.

"It's a lot better than it was, 'Mione. In second year we landed in piles of them. If it wasn't for Ginny being trapped down here, there's no way we would have went further."

As soon as Hermione had finished performing some cleaning charms on herself, the three started walking. Soon they came across the cave in.

"So this is where Lockheart tried to Obliviate you and Ron?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, the idiot. I know how to fix this, just give me a minute." Hermione nodded, stepping back. Seeing her movement, L also stepped back.

Harry brightened the room, and scrutinised both the pile of rocks and the ceiling, before standing still. He raised his hands, and the pile of rocks shot up, hovering slightly before flying to their rightful place on the ceiling where they gradually filled in the holes. Soon there was no evidence of the archway ever having been damaged.

"Nice work Harry!" said Hermione, sounding impressed. "Although, I suppose you've had more than enough practice."

"Just a bit. Hey, how much do you reckon a 60ft shed basilisk skin is worth as potion ingredients?"

Hermione's jaw dropped as she stared through the archway at the massive snake skin.

"Harry, please tell me it wasn't much bigger. I know you said... but seeing it... Harry, how did you _not_ die?"

"Calm down, 'Mione, Fawkes looked after me."

"You shouldn't even have had to come here in the first place, Harry! This is insane!"

"You've not seen it yet, 'Mione."

"I _know_, Harry! That's sort of my point!"

They carried on walking in silence until they reached the door that was covered in serpents.

_*Open*_ he hissed.

L noted that once again, 'Mione flinched. What was her problem...? He remembered Harry mentioning that nobody liked hearing him speak the snake language, but this was ridiculous! No wonder he'd been surprised when L had reacted positively, if this is what he had to deal with normally.

"Can Parseltongue be learned like other languages Harry?" L asked as they stepped through the door.

"Hmm, I'm not sure about that. I've never heard of anyone seriously trying to learn it, although if it's possible, I'm sure you would be able to at least speak it, even if you couldn't understand it. It's usually hereditary, but I got it from when Tom tried to kill me the first time."

Harry waved his hand, and several greenish torches flared to life around the room, which turned out to be a massive cavern. There was a huge statue of an aristocratic looking man at the far end, and the walkway was lined on both sides by large stone cobras, their hoods flared in aggression. Thankfully, they remained still. Behind the cobras were massive pools of still water. At the base of the statue was a lump, and as they moved closer, Hermione gasped in horror.

"Harry... You never told me it was this big! Not even Ginny told me it was this big..."

"I thought you saw it when it petrified you?" asked Harry curiously.

Hermione shuddered. "Actually... All I remember is a pair of huge, yellow eyes in the mirror, and then I woke up."

"Funny that... Myrtle said almost the exact same thing when I asked her."

Harry and Hermione shared an uneasy glance, before looking back at the dead Basilisk.

"I'm glad you had that mirror, 'Mione," Harry said quietly.

"Me too. So, where is this snake? Seth wasn't it?"

Harry threw a trunk on the floor and enlarged it, before climbing into it and disappearing. It wasn't as disturbing to watch the second time around. He emerged a few minutes later with Seth coiled around his shoulders.

"This guy sure is heavy... Right, give me a minute to talk to him guys."

Hermione walked away, towards the Basilisk, and started looking it over. L decided that even dead, he wasn't going anywhere near it and stayed where he was, looking around curiously.

_*Hello there, Seth.*_

_*Hello Amigo. You killed this guy when you were twelve years old?*_

_*Yeah. Wasn't easy.*_

_*Bravo Amigo. You know what; Brazil probably has way too much competition. I'm sticking with you Amigo. Now, make me big!*_

Seth showed his fangs, flicking his tongue excitedly, and Harry couldn't help but grin. L and Hermione watched nervously, Hermione having drifted over after staring at the Basilisk.

_*Hang on, Seth. 'Mione is the one that's going to do it, since she is much better at this sort of magic than I am. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you.*_

Seth stared at Hermione, who tried not to squirm.

_*Alright, Amigo.*_

_*We'll make you big first, and then we'll see about making you look as fierce as this guy. Are you looking forward to scaring some giant spiders?*_

_*Sure thing, Amigo!*_

Fifteen minutes, many hissed conversations regarding preservation of fangs, and many spells later, there was an almost exact living replica of the dead Basilisk, without the deadly stare of course.

"There. All done," said Hermione. "Could you just ask him if there's any discomfort at all, and if his jaws meet properly?"

Harry nodded and hissed at Seth, who then also nodded.

"Right... Just the warming charm to go, and then we'll have to figure out if there's a forest exit down here. I assume that Slytherin would have had to let the Basilisk out to hunt at some point..."

There was a flash of flames high above them, and the most heavenly sound echoed around the chamber, lifting the spirits of the three tremendously. L closed his eyes and listened, feeling worries that he hadn't known existed just drifting away.

"Fawkes! It's been a long time!"

Fawkes trilled softly, and circled Harry, before landing on his outstretched arm. Harry scratched Fawkes' head, and beamed at the bird. L couldn't take his eyes off Fawkes, and marvelled at seeing an actual _Phoenix_, the stuff of legends that he'd refused to read since the loss of his parents all those years ago... and here one was, right in front of him.

"Fawkes, you wouldn't happen to know a way out to the forest from here, by any chance?" asked Harry, and L was confused. Could Fawkes actually understand...?

There was an affirmative trill and a bob of the head, and Fawkes launched into the air, gliding towards one of the tunnels. L's question was answered.

"Come on then, I'll probably have to open the door." _*Come on, Seth, the forest is this way*_

They followed Fawkes through many tunnels, Harry streaming red and gold tinsel from his wand, and sticking it to the walls as they went so that they would be able to find their way again. It was certainly a strange sight. Eventually they came to a round stone door, with just the one snake carved on its surface.

_*Seth... I need you to prowl around for a little while in the forest, and see if any other snakes would be willing to pretend to be Basilisks for a while if needed. I'm not sure if it will be necessary, but I'm sure that the forest snakes are tired of the Acromantula chasing away their prey.*_

_*When they see me, they won't say no Amigo! So I don't get to eat big spiders?*_

_*No Seth, not unless they start fighting, but I'll let you know if that happens. I need you to make your way between them and Hogwarts, and make sure they don't go near the school. Don't scare them into running that way before you get there, alright? Try to go around them and avoid any contact if possible, but let them see you once you are in place. Avoid the centaurs at all costs!*_ Harry turned to Fawkes, who had landed on his shoulder. "Is this a safe part of the forest?" An uneasy trill was the reply.

_*You can count on me, Amigo! Find snakes, guard the school!*_

"Right, I'll put up a barrier that only Seth can go through..." Hermione nodded.

_*Open.*_

All they could see when the door opened was a dark, eerie forest that seemed to radiate a bad feeling. The trees were massive, indicating that the Forbidden Forest was ancient in origin, and the very shallow snow on the ground along with the severe lack of light indicated that the canopy must be thicker than L thought possible, especially in winter. All was silent as Seth exited the tunnel, and slithered away.

"Right, time to head back up..."

"Is the barrier up?" asked Hermione.

Harry waved his wand, and the doorway flashed a golden colour before returning to normal.

"Serpents only, now. There was already that option on the doorway, apparently. I had wondered. It's very old magic, so I'm guessing it was Slytherin himself."

The three of them reluctantly turned their backs on the open door leading to the forest, and all three felt as if there were unfriendly eyes watching their retreat.

"That must be rather deep into the forest, I don't think I've ever seen trees that big before," murmured Hermione.

"Yes, I saw trees that were similar around the furthest nest, so the exit might be near that."

They were silent until they reached the end of the main cavern where the dead Basilisk lay, and then Hermione started muttering about extracting properties from its venom to research a cure for nerve pain. Harry just grinned at her as they continued to walk though the chamber.

The three of them were nearing the exit, when L had a thought.

"Harry."

"Yes Elijah? Hm, it does have a certain ring to it. What do you think 'Mione?"

L glowered fiercely from beneath his hood, once again feeling the urge to kick the man. Hermione looked between Harry and the faceless 'Ryuuzaki'.

"I hate to burst your bubble Harry, but he's a cloak."

Harry slowly turned to L with an overly-innocent look plastered all over his face.

"Oh dear, you heard the woman. You're no longer a person, but a _cloak_."

Hermione tutted and rolled her eyes. "You know fine well what I meant Harry! Sorry Ryuuzaki, it wasn't meant to sound that way, it's just that you're a walking cloak!"

"Its fine," L bit out. "Harry?"

"Yes Bob?"

L was grinding his teeth, and the noise made Hermione wince.

"If that statue is indeed of the man who created this chamber, then he doesn't quite seem like the type to slide down a pipe, or to fly up it."

Harry and Hermione both looked at each other in shock, before bursting out laughing at the imagery. Hermione regained her composure first.

"You can stop laughing now, Harry. He's right you know. I can't imagine the great Salazar Slytherin doing something as undignified as sliding down a stone pipe!"

"You never know 'Mione! I never thought I'd see a man arguing his right to wear a muggle woman's flowery nightdress at the Quidditch World Cup, but apparently he liked a 'healthy breeze round his privates'! Seriously, Wizards can be proper mental!"

"'Mione, if a wizard randomly summons a seven foot python, would he be considered to be rather unstable?" L asked nonchalantly.

Hermione stared at him, contemplating.

"It depends. Was there a rat involved?"

"After the summoning." At this point Harry interjected.

"He's coming along well 'Mione, he's sounding like a Squib already! Don't they grow fast?" Harry was wiping imaginary tears from his eyes.

"Harry, I can still kick you."

"And I can still turn you into a ferret. I think you would make an exceptionally fluffy ferret, actually."

"You-"

"You will _not_ Harry! Now stop goading him and think about getting us out of here! I've had enough of this place for one day!" interrupted Hermione, once again looking at all the bones in disgust.

"Sorry 'Mione, hang on and I'll try a couple of things."

Harry walked over to the bottom of the pipe, waving his wand, and tracing the edge of the pipe at various points.

"Yes... there's definitely something here, but it needs a password to activate. I think that the slide is actually a defence measure. Can it be so simple...?" He stepped back.

"What?" asked Hermione.

_*Stairs.*_

Nothing happened.

"Hm. Not so simple then. Ryuzaki, what's another word for 'stairs'?"

"Steps, staircase, stairway. I can think of no others that would apply."

"Thanks..." _*Steps. Staircase. Stairway.*_

There was the sound of stone grinding, and one by one, from the bottom, steps started to flip themselves upwards from the surface of the pipe, and torches descended from the roof, leading upwards.

"Turns out it was 'stairway'. I hope there aren't too many of these... It was a long way down."

All three looked at each other and sighed, before resolutely starting to climb towards the surface, Fawkes flying ahead of them effortlessly.

**A/N:** Slightly shorter this time, but hopefully shorter doesn't equal bad... I hope that whatever I'm doing with this fic, I'm doing it right! I know that in canon, Ron and Hermione went down to the chamber to retrieve a Basilisk fang during all the fuss, but I decided that Hermione stood guard in the loo whilst Ron did the manly thing and got the fang. I highly doubt that's actually what happened (since Ron is a wuss), but I decided to play around a bit!

Let me know what you think! If you think of any way that I can improve on my writing, it would be much appreciated! It's not supposed to be a masterpiece I suppose, but I still want to do my best. I'm really enjoying writing this story! My health took a few bad turns during the writing of this chapter, and I hope it doesn't show.

You lovely people who consistently review, and who have me on alerts and favourites lists, and who put me on a whole bunch of communities:

THANK YOU!

I giggle like a little girl at every single one, and it lifts my spirits tremendously! Oh, and my little boy is amazed and proud of how many reviews I have! He gasps when I tell him, and he asks every few days, lol, he says I'm amazing! To a bedbound Mum, that means the world, so truly, thank you everyone!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Apologies for the lateness, my ability to form coherent sentences has been rather sporadic lately. Then there's piano, which kills my wrists for a few days, then my power brick for my laptop died, and the Monkeys had to send me a new one. Here you go, anyway. Feel free to leave your valued opinions!

**Chapter 13**

At precisely three minutes to eleven, Harry opened the front doors of Hogwarts in time for them to see the last few snowflakes settle on the ground. L – Whose posture was significantly worse than usual – wasn't particularly caring about anything at that moment, and had never felt so bone-achingly tired in his entire life. Harry and Hermione, who were used to Hogwarts impressive size, and the changing moods of the staircases, and the never-ending maze of hallways, had fared significantly better.

Fortunately, after fifteen minutes of climbing the most impossibly horrendous set of stairs known to man, Fawkes the phoenix had graciously offered his services in transporting the three of them to the top. _Un_fortunately, it was a choice between once again grabbing onto Harry for dear life and being _flamed_ out of existence and back again, or option two; grabbing onto a tail feather, and being pulled up that way. Needless to say, he chose the option that didn't involve him potentially being burnt to a crisp.

What he didn't consider when making his decision was the utter panic he would feel when gravity abruptly ceased to function. In fact, the concept of gravity ceasing to function hadn't even entered his mind, therefore when he found himself weightless, and stupidly let go of the aforementioned tail feather, he somehow ended up grabbing onto Harry for dear life _anyway_.

Thankfully, upon reaching the surface, Hermione had decided to take herself and her indulgently patronising little smiles to the library, and so he no longer had to suffer her endless stares and irritating questions. Not that there was anything _wrong_ with her as such; he just found her to be rather overwhelming. In those fifteen minutes on the stairs, she had practically regurgitated almost every 'known' fact about Salazar Slytherin, down to his preference for mulled wine over mulled mead; she'd hinted at cases that L had previously solved, blatantly digging for information that she would never receive; she'd inquired about his childhood, along with his schooling, qualifications, friends, family, hobbies and co-workers, and generally made such a nuisance of herself that L wondered how Harry could stand to be near her for any extended period of time, let alone have a strong enough friendship to last over a decade.

Quite frankly, when she'd huffed at him in the bathroom for ignoring her existence, then turned her back to him and stated that Harry could find her in the library if he so desired, L couldn't have been more relieved.

Now here he was, after following Harry down a completely different set of corridors, getting ready to pick his way through a Forbidden Forest. (And just how does going from level two to level five, back down to level three, and then up to level six result in them reaching the ground floor? It was mind-boggling).

"Nice! It stopped right on time! It's good that Filius has had more time for a couple of his projects these last few years. I know that muggles have gotten pretty good at figuring out the weather, but they can't beat Filius and his charms! Off we go, then," said Harry cheerily, holding the massive door open with one hand. L could detect an underlying nervousness... It was in the way Harry quickly licked his lips, and the way his eyes were resting anywhere except the forest – only darting over to it occasionally – and the longing glances he was shooting the interior of the castle were enough of a giveaway. L was sure he could find more signs with closer scrutiny.

L sighed, and slowly shuffled out of the castle, wincing at the various joints that popped on his way down the steps. Hearing a familiar trill, he looked up to see Fawkes flying majestically towards the forest.

"It's a shame that you don't like flying, Ryuzaki. Getting to the edge of the forest would be a lot quicker."

"Muggles do not fly brooms, Harry, nor do they put their confidence into a bird's tail feathers."

"I wasn't talking about brooms, or Fawkes," Harry replied with a small, secretive smile. "I don't need a broom or a Phoenix to fly."

To L's astonishment, Harry jumped, and did not land. He stayed hovering in the air, his cloak whipping around him as he laughed.

"The look on your face! Want to try?" asked Harry, flying closer and holding his hand out. "Come on, I won't drop you or anything, and I won't go too high."

"I..." L hesitated.

"Come on! You only live once, and I can't do this when we go back. Too many muggles in that area."

"What if you get tired?"

"I've eaten more with you in this past week than I generally do in a month, I've had a few nights of decent sleep, and to be honest it's almost _itching_ to be used, so come on! Or would you rather walk?"

L searched his mind and found far too many reasons why he should _not_ be doing this... but he _wanted_ to, and what L wanted, L generally got. It wasn't often that L would deny himself anything.

"Peter Pan."

"Huh? Oh... Yeah, I suppose this is pretty similar. Except for the bit where I do age, just slower than you. Oh, and I don't wear tights, or sprinkle fairy dust, although I'm sure I could if you _really_ wanted it to be authentic! So are you coming up or not?"

"...No," L replied with only a slight hesitation, which went completely unnoticed.

Harry grumbled slightly before landing gently on the snow, without sinking into the white powder.

"Fine, but you're walking on top of the snow. I'm not shifting everything from here to the forest." Harry flicked his hand in L's general direction. "Right, step on up, and you won't sink."

L felt no different, but sure enough to his amazement he found that he could walk on the snow without sinking, just like Harry. He jumped up and down a few times, even stamping on the snow as hard as he could, but nothing made a dent, or even a sound. The snow remained untouched. L was brought out of his experiments by Harry's ringing laughter.

"You really do question everything, don't you? You just can't help yourself!" Harry said through his chuckles.

L didn't reply; he just walked past Harry, continuing towards the forest, his face paling in slight embarrassment, unseen behind the shadows of the cloak. Harry soon caught up to him, and they walked in an awkward silence for a few minutes, neither really knowing what to say. Predictably, it was Harry who spoke first.

"If you've got questions about magic, then feel free to ask, and I'll find a book on it somewhere. Although, if a book says it's impossible, then check with me first... I have a habit of doing the impossible, and the books seem to be taking a long time to update."

L looked sideways at Harry, who glanced back, grinning slightly. After a few minutes, Harry had given up on receiving a reply, and was whistling a jaunty tune whilst apparently trying to recreate the effects of walking on the moon, without the spacesuit; gravity-defying jumps and all. It was entirely ridiculous in L's opinion, and he wished that Harry would just...

"Crrrck! Houston, we have landed on the moon! I repeat, Houston, we have landed on the moon! Over! Crrrck!" announced Harry, grinning as he fooled around on top of the snow. "Come on, Pete! It can't be that bad, can it? You're visiting a magical castle, on grounds where magic is as normal as breathing, and you're not even the slightest bit interested? I refuse to believe it, which means you're holding back," Harry stated enthusiastically, whilst pointing a finger at L.

L retracted his hands from the sleeves of the cloak and stuffed them in his jeans pockets, his fingers automatically sorting items as either 'lollipop' or 'not a lollipop' as his mind tried to settle on which question to ask first.

"You once mentioned that there are children in the... muggle part of society who are born magical, but have muggle parents. You also mentioned a letter, and a visitor, and strange things happening. Did you honestly not know that these odd occurrences were your own doing?"

Harry stopped, and turned, and L stopped also, his hand flying to his mouth, a purple lollipop between thumb and forefinger.

"Steve, you have the strangest way of asking questions that I have ever encountered. I think I could live my whole life and never meet someone else like you. You're basically asking whether or not I saw it coming, right? If I somehow knew deep down that there was something special about me or something stupid like that? Well not really, that was more Tom's thing. Tom always thought he was special. Personally, I was rather... hmmm. Sorry but that's getting onto topics I'd rather avoid. I will gladly tell you all about Tom though."

"That would be unfair, since I asked about you."

"No, what would be unfair would be me spilling my guts about irrelevant childhood events, for absolutely no reason other than to satisfy your curiosity. Can you play any instruments?"

"Whether or not I can play any instruments is of little importance at this present time," L stated in his usual monotone.

"Fine, have it your way. At least you see my point. The answer you should have given me is yes, and I would guess that you can play more than one, so... piano, violin, and... I'm not sure. It's between flute and clarinet. I'm leaning towards flute, since it has obvious advantages."

L was surprised, and slightly unsettled that Harry was partially correct, but was less than willing to let the other man know this fact. Was this truly how others felt when he did the same thing? It wasn't pleasant the second time around either. This was the second time that Harry had made him feel uneasy – like Harry knew things that he shouldn't – and L just wasn't supposed to be affected by these things. It just wasn't _allowed_. L was supposed to be above such things. No personality, no family, no friends, no home. That is the life of L.

"Before you start panicking about how much I might or might not know, I guessed-"

"Piano, because I have long fingers which are obviously strong; violin because of the slight calluses on my right hand paired with my strange manner of holding things, and flute because of the benefits to a person's lung capacity. Correct?"

"Yes, actually... just guesses really. So was I right?"

"I am not at liberty to disclose that information." These simple words brought L a level of comfort that he had never had reason to seek before meeting a Wizard called Harry Potter. He wondered what else Harry would do, or cause; all he knew, was that whatever happened, he wanted to _watch_. An interesting person such as Harry Potter could only make interesting things happen around him, and L wanted to be in the shadows. Harry was precisely the right kind of person to-

Harry sighed gustily, and threw up his hands. "Is there anything that you're _not_ good at then?"

Conversation came to a halt as both young men entered the forest, Harry's confident steps not faltering in the slightest. L noticed that there was a distinct lack of noise. He also noticed that whatever spell was causing him to walk on snow, seemed to have the same effect on twigs and other forest debris.

"Not to my knowledge," L eventually replied, forcing Harry to try and remember what it was that he had asked in the first place. It was amusing to watch as comprehension finally settled across his features, followed by disbelief.

"There's absolutely no way that you're just good at everything! So... Are you any good at drawing?"

"...Yes."

"Paints or pencils?" asked Harry, seemingly staring at the shadows covering his face.

"...Pencils." He considered lying, even though it hadn't exactly helped him previously. That would never keep him from trying, of course.

"Liar!" Harry stated smugly, with an impish grin. He genuinely enjoyed annoying L by randomly pointing out his lies, now that he knew to look for them. L suppressed his irritation, much to Harry's disappointment. L pausing meant that he was thinking of lying, and if he was thinking of lying, he generally did.

"Let me guess, you draw with cake, and chocolate covered biscuit sticks dipped in syrup," Harry teased, with a smile on his face.

"Nothing so crude. I use a computer like every other sensible person alive. Also for future reference, those 'chocolate covered biscuit sticks' that you are referring to are known as 'pocky'."

"Ah, that's what it is," Harry remarked absently, before focussing once again on L, and pointing an ink-stained finger at him. "That's blatant cheating! I'm calling shenanigans on that one; I specified 'drawing' not C.A.D.!" (Computer Aided Design)

"You may have specified drawing, but you didn't specify the exact medium used to create the artwork, which in my case would be a computer. Even though my pencil would be a stylus, and my paper would be a digital tablet, it is still drawing. If cake and pocky are acceptable drawing implements in Harry's opinion, then he shouldn't have a problem with digital devices."

Harry was silent for a moment, before stating, "And right about now is when the rest of the kids at school would kick your ass up and down the playground, right?"

"No."

"Liar," said Harry without looking, or even thinking.

They kept walking in silence.

"I cannot divulge information about a person who does not exist," L stated quietly.

Harry stopped walking.

"You are speaking to a person who was born as a tool, or a weapon, and treated as one by a whole society. Have you truly sunk so far into _what_ you are that you no longer remember _who_ you are? If that's the case, then what's the point in you being what you are? Oh and you're practically dead already too, if you can't be yourself. What is it that you are fighting _for?_"

"To bring Justice."

"Justice for who?"

"The innocent," replied L with no hesitation. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," he stated. "I truly do not mind the solitude either," he added dryly, although it was said in his usual flat tone.

"Ah... Working... 'For the greater good', hmmm?"

"That's a rather good way of putting it." L noticed immediately that he had said something wrong, due to the shark-like grin that was stuck on Harry's face like a mask.

"Well I think it sucks, and I told Dumbledore so too. Did you know that Hitler was nothing but a puppet for the Dark Lord of that time?" Harry watched carefully as L's steps faltered as he came to several conclusions.

"No... You mean to tell me that _millions_ of people died because of something they didn't even-"

"Stop right there! I know where you're going with this, so I'm just going to stop you and remind you of the lovely book about Grindelwald that's waiting for you to read it. It will tell you a slightly bigger picture, and then I will happily fill in the rest, since I'm one of the few who know certain parts of the truth."

L was annoyed at being interrupted _again_ and scowled freely behind the shadows that he'd already become attached to. If only he could wear this cloak all the time... But still, he nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hitler was Grindelwald's puppet, basically. He had his own slogans, of course, but Grindelwald liked to use the words 'For the Greater Good' as his little slogan. Dumbledore also used those words to justify himself, for reasons that will be told at a later date... Ah to hell with it. Dumbledore and Grindelwald were uhm... best friends, I think. There was an incident where a girl who happened to be Dumbledore's sister died, and both went their separate ways... Grindelwald decided to 'cleanse' the world of muggles, and Dumbledore realised how dangerous power could be, and shied away from it, deciding to dedicate his life to Hogwarts. Basically they used the same words in a different context, justifying the actions of two different people with different goals... So it's all well and good saying 'Oh, it's alright! It's for the Greater Good!' but then it all depends on that person's idea of what a 'Greater Good' would be... It's not always what's wanted by the majority of others, or what's best."

"That is very true. One man's paradise is another man's hell."

"Exactly, and yet again you manage to sum up what I'm trying to say in only a few words, which is brilliant, by the way. It would save me a lot of time and effort if I could do the same, but unfortunately I'm not wired that way."

They carried on walking for a few minutes, both thinking over what had been said. Harry was tempted to remove his little spell, since their steps were utterly silent, and he found it rather creepy. Unknown to Harry, L was thinking the same thing, grasping at random thoughts to stop himself from thinking about the utter silence around them. It was just not _natural_ to stomp through a forest without his footsteps making _some_ sort of noise!

"If we were to swap our lives around, there is a ninety-three point six two percent probability of us hating each other's circumstances to the point where we would quietly leave the country; and there is a forty-eight point three percent chance that we would become criminals to survive." L remarked as if observing a particularly common species of tree.

Harry burst out laughing.

"You know what, you're probably right. I would be bored and confused within seconds, and I'd need sedated to stop myself from following the action. You'd find it hard to do my job without a wand, and even then it wouldn't be much use to you. Why the odd statement?"

"I was simply exploring my thoughts, that is all. Are we almost there?"

"Yes, only a few more minutes. If we're lucky, then he's already there."

"Some key information would be appreciated. All I know so far is that Centaurs can be very cryptic, they enjoy interpreting the stars, and that a herd lives in this forest," said L.

Harry nodded and agreed slightly apologetically, before he collected his thoughts.

"Right... I suppose that when we get there, he might mention a 'Chosen One', or a 'Child of Light' or a 'Light Child'. That's me, irritatingly enough. If he mentions anything else, hopefully it will be obvious if he's talking about a person, or a thing, or an event. It's everything in between that's vague, especially when planets get involved. They didn't read the planets wrong the last time. They saw that I would die, and that there would be an epic battle, and they were right. However, they didn't see me getting up from it. Neither did I really, but here we are. Most people end up being random stars, but some people get a special name, like me, and I'm guessing it's because they have an important role in life, or some sort of destiny. It's the only thing that makes sense, really. Unfortunately, that's all I can tell you."

"It will be enough."

Harry looked at him sceptically.

They silently walked deeper into the forest, the snow very quickly becoming shallower as the canopy grew exponentially thicker, blocking out almost all light except for an eerie green glow from leaves that should have dropped off their trees months ago. L grew more and more uneasy, knowing deep in his bones that this forest was plain _wrong_. It was unnatural, and unnatural things happened in unnatural places, and L just wanted to _go home_, wherever that was. Soon, they came to a clearing with an old tree stump in the centre. L however, hadn't noticed the tree stump, or the clearing, or the fact that if it wasn't for Harry quickly throwing his arm out and catching him, he would have fallen flat on his face.

"Harry Potter."

"Good morning, Firenze."

"Names have more meaning than ever before..." The centaur remarked absently, staring up at a tiny gap in the trees.

"Yeah, it's a bit mad at the moment. Do you know anything about the weapon?" Harry asked quietly, and respectfully, much to L's surprise. Firenze turned his gaze to the Wizard.

"You brought him," stated the Centaur, staring into the Wizard's eyes, the Wizard slowly stepping closer to the Centaur until he was within kicking distance. L noticed that the Centaur appeared... satisfied.

"Yes, but he's not a weapon," Harry replied, his breath coming out in cloudy puffs as he refused to break eye contact. Firenze nodded, and both Wizard and Centaur relaxed slightly. L had no idea what had just happened, but he was sure that something significant had just passed between the two magical beings.

Firenze looked at L, and L's thoughts derailed as he stared into baby blue eyes that seemed to stare past his shadows, past the blank mask that was his face, and he fought to keep his breathing steady as he realised that he could easily start panicking if someone didn't say something soon.

"Would you please take down your hood?" Firenze asked pleasantly.

L jerkily stepped back, and swiftly shook his head in the negative. Harry looked at him strangely, but Firenze just smiled gently at L as if he had been expecting this answer all along, which calmed L down better than anything else could have at that point, allowing him to once again think rationally. He wondered if the Centaur knew this.

"When we lose sight of a star, to find it again can be..." Here Firenze paused, and stared up at the sky.

"What?" said Harry eventually, becoming impatient.

"It can be many things, for good or ill."

"Right." Harry sighed.

"Mars is once again bright, yet favouring the Child of Light." Firenze stated. He looked down and stared at L, before once again focussing on the cloudy sky.

Harry scowled. "I'm not a child anymore."

Firenze paused, and smiled a smile that told of a thousand secrets as he looked down at the young man.

"Ah, the stars tell me what I need to know. To them, you are but a child. To the stars, we are all children. Now, the Shadow Child... This one hides, and for very good reason. Many seek to destroy the Shadow Child. Many have tried. Many seek to take what is rightfully his. It is _his_, and his alone, and that is how he walks. The Shadow Child would have it no other way, but Jupiter... The fate of the Shadow Child is no longer sealed."

"Who is the Shadow Child?" asked Harry, tilting his head and frowning slightly. "You've never mentioned a Shadow Child before."

"The Shadow Child will know himself, and will make himself known to you if he wishes it."

"So I've met the Shadow Child?" Firenze tossed his head, and stared at L, who brought out another lollipop, unwrapped it, and held the wrapper out between forefinger and thumb for Harry to dispose of, which he did with a flick of his finger.

"A Bright Star, now a Lost Star. It will be found, dulled and warped from its true course. Neptune casts its shadow, and Pluto moves into place. For good or ill, we shall see... Once again the Child of Light is written in the stars, changing that which otherwise would be fate, including..."

Harry stepped closer, as did L. "What?" whispered Harry.

"Harry Potter, _your name is no longer written_." Firenze leaned down so that his nose was an inch from Harry's, and so that his calm blue eyes stared straight into startled green.

"I don't understand, how could I not be written? I'm obviously not dead, and how else does a person get written out... hang on, does that mean I'm a 'Lost Star'?"

Firenze just shook his head and laughed. L noted that Firenze's laughter was rather... Horse-ish. "Remember, Child of Light. Without light, there are no shadows, just darkness."

"Why did you request that I come here?" asked L, speaking for the first time.

"A journey that must be taken, to understand that which has yet to come to pass."

The three were silent, before Firenze turned to Harry.

"I shall take my leave, and part with three pieces of advice. Instruct the Guardians carefully of their boundaries, otherwise they will be slain without mercy."

Harry winced.

"Will do, Firenze, hopefully they will listen. Thanks for that, I know it's not the done thing to share what you interpret, so I appreciate it all the more. What is the second piece of advice?"

Firenze paused, looking between them intently.

"This applies to both of you. What you seek, and what you have found, are one and the same. Now the third, and in answer to your first question... Harry Potter... Guard your treasure. Death is the beginning."

"Huh? Just when I think I might be right on the edge of understanding, you throw a rock in my path. Excellent. Thanks for that," said Harry wryly, resisting the urge to repeatedly bang his head on the tree stump. Firenze just gave him a predatory grin, and glanced briefly at L, before turning and galloping deeper into the forest, throwing a "Farewell!" over his shoulder.

Harry and L stood quietly until the sound of the Centaur's hooves faded back into an unnatural silence.

"I would appreciate it if you would please take a few steps in any direction," Harry stated quietly, staring at the ground at L's feet with an odd look on his face. L complied, seeing no reason not to, and he noted that Harry's eyes did not move from staring at where L's feet had been.

"Was there any particular reason for your request?" L asked after a moment.

Harry stared at the ground with a hard look before glaring at a point across the clearing. L waited quietly.

"You were standing exactly where I died," Harry said with a grim smile.

L felt the strange urge to wipe his feet, and couldn't help but stare at the ground where he had been standing, as if he would see a Harry-shaped dent in the ground or something, but there was nothing there at all.

"Well, wasn't that enlightening?" Harry stated, bringing them both out of their thoughts.

"It was... strange. Very strange. You are the Child of Light, and Kira is the Bright Star which is now the Lost Star."

"I thought so. It's the Shadow Child that has me stumped," said Harry as he turned and began to lead them back to the castle. "I can't think of any wizards that would fit that description."

"You said that some people get a special name, not that some wizards get a special name."

Harry stopped and turned.

"Hang on, you mean you think that it's going to be a muggle?"

"Yes. Specifically, me. Apparently I'm that Shadow Child. I'm surprised that you didn't catch that, actually."

Harry looked rather sheepish, and tugged at his hair. "Yeah, it's rather obvious now, I suppose. I've just never heard of a muggle getting a special name before though. You might be the first one!"

L yawned behind his shadows, resisting the urge to lift his hand to his mouth, and trying to muffle the sound; but in the stillness of the forest, Harry picked up on it easily.

"How much sleep did you get last night?" Harry asked sharply.

L chose to be silent. Harry growled in frustration.

"I gave you that vial for a _reason_. You've got no excuse! What in Merlin's name were you doing that was more important than getting enough sleep? I haven't once seen you sleep! More importantly, what did you do with that vial? I hope you didn't send it off to some lab for testing, because they won't find anything! Seriously, if you don't look after yourself you are going to _drop_; and knowing my luck it will be at the worst possible time! _I'm_ the one that will have to pick up the pieces!" Harry's arms were waving wildly, and his eyes were narrowed in frustration.

L was rather shocked, to say the least. The part about the testing hit too close to home, since he did spend roughly an hour (excluding time spent waiting for results) testing the strange liquid before realising that no matter what he did, it would still show up as _water_. If he hadn't known better, he would have been convinced that the 'Dreamless Sleep' potion really was nothing but spring water. L remained silent, knowing that there was nothing that he could say.

"Fine, but if you drop in exhaustion, you'll be stuck with Poppy! That's one sleeping dragon that I adamantly refuse to tickle!" Harry exclaimed dejectedly, dropping his arms loosely.

"I shall not 'drop' as you put it. I am perfectly capable of avoiding your school nurse for a long while yet."

Harry stared. "No, you aren't actually. The woman is a menace; you have no idea who you're dealing with. I know her favourite type of patient and you are right up her street. She'd just love to _fix_ you. I think it's a woman thing. Did I ever tell you about that one time she _broke my nose_ to force me to go for a check-up? What kind of Healer does that? I tell you what kind. The crazy kind!"

"Actually yes you did say something about her numbing your knees. Perhaps you should have walked."

"Walked? Willingly? You have got to be joking. She is a tyrant! I have my own bed in that place, and she never lets me out, I always have to escape, that's how bad she is! It's because of that woman that I'm so good at transfiguring clothes, since she _steals_ them and hides them..."

"Surely she couldn't keep me there, since I am a muggle."

"Fine, but you would be the one explaining to Watari why you turned up a week late."

"Apparently that hasn't happened, because I clearly heard myself-"

"No! Remember, no thoughts along those lines, or you will drive yourself crazy, and that would be seriously bad. I'm not going round the politician's houses and telling them I messed you up! Plus I get the feeling that Watari can be really scary, and I really don't want to test that, since it's obvious that the guy practically considers you as his own kid."

L sighed. "The wrapper. Where did it go?" he asked, changing the subject.

Harry scratched his head and looked rather confused.

"Wrapper... wrapper... Ah! You mean the lollipop wrapper back there?" L nodded. "Nowhere."

"It had to have gone somewhere, it can't just vanish," argued L, irritated at not getting a straight answer.

"I'm telling you, it went nowhere."

"And I am telling Harry-kun, that it had to go somewhere. Something must have happened to it." L's irritation levels were rising steadily,

Harry sighed, and wished that L would stop holding onto his science.

"Imagine there's a town called Nowhere. That's where your wrapper went."

"I am going to kick Harry-kun."

"What? I haven't done anything!" protested Harry indignantly, almost tripping over a tree root as he swivelled his head around to deal with the stubborn detective.

"Harry-kun is being deliberately vague and unhelpful. I do not appreciate being treated as if I were a child."

"Ah, Firenze got to you too then. Even old people are children to them. It gets annoying, but bearable in small doses. It's nothing personal."

"I have been called worse. I want to know where Harry-kun sent that wrapper."

"For Merlin's sake! It's a spell that vanishes stuff! It's just gone! And what's with you saying my name all the time in the wrong places, and the -kun stuff?" Harry almost shouted, getting annoyed with the overgrown owl shuffling next to him.

"But it can't just be gone. Even if Harry-kun somehow turned it into tiny particles, or sent it to the bottom of the sea, or sent it to space, something had to happen to it." L pressed on, taking no notice of Harry's irritation.

"I don't know, alright? It just vanishes. By the way it's just Harry, so stop with the –kun stuff," Harry said, scowling and glaring at the ground.

"But, doesn't Harry-kun have to send it somewhere to make it disappear?"

"No, that's called _banishing_, what I did is called _vanishing_. There's a slight difference. Anyway, let's just sort one thing out at least. Actually, let's make that two things."

Harry stopped suddenly, forcing L to stop. L looked up from watching his own feet and saw that Harry was rather irritated, although he tried to hide it. What truly shocked L, and 'knocked him off his perch' as Harry would say, was when Harry laid his hands on his shoulders, and squeezed gently.

"Ryuuzaki, please listen. I am _not_ Japanese. I barely knew that Japan even _existed_ until I was a teenager. My name is definitely not Japanese. Sticking –kun on the end of my Japanese alter-ego is one thing, sticking it on my English name is just plain weird. It just doesn't have the same ring to it."

"I thought not. I had wondered if repetition would improve matters." L stared absently at something that was shifting in one of the trees, relishing in the fact that Harry couldn't be offended by his perceived lack of attentiveness since the shadows were hiding his features.

"It didn't. So here, it's just Harry. I've been called worse than 'Harry-kun' mind you, but it's still really, really strange, which I am sure you are well aware of. I've got a name, and barely anyone uses the damn thing. With this whole Kira business, it could be months until I can be myself again, so please don't butcher what little time I have left with my name, no matter how insignificant it is to you."

"It would be a good idea for Harry to remove his hands from my person. In fact, I must insist," L stated, still staring at the strange little brown thing that was picking the bark off a nearby tree.

Harry laughed and dropped his arms.

"It's fine; my elbows were getting tired anyway. Oh, the second thing! This whole... game of yours, where you use people's names instead of 'you' or 'he' or 'she' whenever you don't like them, is going to get you noticed by the wrong people. You're in with a whole bunch of eccentrics now, you have no magic, and getting noticed... ah you know what? You know exactly what you're doing at all times, and you're not even paying attention anyway." Harry's shoulders slumped slightly, and he rubbed his face wearily.

"That would be because I am watching the little brown stick man," stated L monotonously. "I was trying to decide whether or not it was in fact a-"

"Little brown stick man? What... Oh! You found a Bowtruckle!" Harry exclaimed as he turned around and saw the little fiend sneaking up on them. "Next time, warn me before it's close enough to claw something. _Accio_ _woodlice!_"

Less than a second later, there was a pile of wriggling, squirming woodlice at Harry's feet, and one extremely happy Bowtruckle. Harry quietly gestured for L to come closer.

"Did you already read about Bowtruckles? If I remember correctly, the picture in the book wasn't very clear, since the Bowtruckle just looked like part of the tree."

"Yes. They guard wand trees."

"Yes, and they do their job so well that there's usually only one per tree. So please, next time, if you see something move, tell me. I suppose I was trying to say that-"

"What's the point of me hiding my identity, if the rest of my habits give me away, right? It is rather simple," L interrupted with a creepy grin that couldn't be seen.

"Well, are you going to elaborate on that for those of us who are of average intelligence?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?" was the bland reply.

Harry groaned. Loudly. Hopefully, they would be back at Hogwarts soon, and then they could sort out the spiders...

"So ash trees can be used to make wands?" L inquired.

"Yes," Harry replied, walking over to the tree and staring at it intently.

There was a creaking sound before something _snapped_, and Harry dodged as a long, thin branch landed next to where Harry had been standing just moments before. Harry bent down and picked it up, pausing before he straightened.

"Thank you," he whispered absently to the tree, something about what Firenze said distracting him and niggling in the back of his mind...

"Damn!" Harry exclaimed. "Firenze... Guardians... Damn! Ryuuzaki we don't have time to walk all the way back, and we have to find 'Mione, she'll still be in the library... Big glaring hint, and I almost missed it..."

L nodded, filing the latest event in his mind for later perusal. "I take it we will be..."

"Flying? You've got it in one. Grab my hand, _don't let go_, and I will do the rest. Just don't do anything distracting and we'll be at the doors in two minutes. I'll go slowly, and I'll stop the wind."

"No. You could still drop me. Therefore it would be a security risk."

"For goodness sake I wouldn't drop you! Didn't we already cover the bit where I don't like visiting politicians, and also the bit where Watari is a scary man waiting to happen? I won't drop you, unless you let go of me, and even then I'd stop you in mid-air before you got far."

L shook his head.

"Fine! No higher than ten feet, you boring, predictable, stubborn, sorry excuse for an owl! What kind of owl doesn't even want to fly?" Harry exclaimed.

"I never claimed to be an owl."

"It's obvious. If you were an animagus, you'd... actually, now that I think on it, you could be quite a lot of animals."

"Are you an animagus?" L asked.

"I... We should get back to the school." Harry visibly faltered as he turned away for a moment.

Just then, Fawkes swooped down from nowhere and landed on Harry's shoulder, trilling quietly into his ear.

"It is fine, Fawkes... I think he would be more comfortable holding onto a person, but thank you anyway... No, no, it's fine... Ah, good. So they noticed? Well, they've had enough warnings. It looks like there will be a few happy snakes for a while, but it can't really be helped... You think so? Hmm, it's definitely worth looking into, and then Hogwarts would be secure, and if another Tom appears, it would definitely help... Well, hopefully this will make them sit up and take notice. I've seen how civilised they can be, so there's no excuse really... I think you're right Fawkes; the Slytherins have always needed something positive to overshadow the negative... Alright, see you later Fawkes, old friend!"

"Very, very strange..." L remarked absently, watching as the fiery bird disappeared amongst the trees.

"I know, I remember watching Professor Dumbledore speaking with him, and I had no idea how he did it."

For once, Harry did not elaborate.

It was then that L realised Harry's trick, the reason why he gave so much information, and the reason he kept talking.

"Right, hold my hand, and we'll get out of here, before we get spotted by something that isn't a Bowtruckle, and I'm not thinking of Unicorns. If I was by myself, no doubt some Thestrals would have made an appearance by now..."

L grabbed Harry's hand before he could think too much of it, and his other hand flew to his mouth as he chewed absently on his thumb. Something so simple really, and he'd bet that not many people had ever noticed...

"Are you ready?" Harry asked, not noticing that most of L's mind was busy elsewhere. L just nodded, his body giving the responses that were expected.

"You talk so much so that people back off when you choose not to," L stated a few seconds later, before realising that his surroundings were moving a lot faster than usual.

Harry gasped, and they dropped a foot or so, L feeling his stomach flip uncomfortably as the multitude of pancakes that he'd eaten threatened to make a return journey.

It was so sudden, and it was then that L realised that he should have kept his mouth shut until they were at least on the ground...

"Damn it Ryuuzaki, smart enough to figure me out, and yet stupid enough to figure me out in mid-air, mid-flight, mid-concentration! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to keep both of us up here? I certainly don't care about turbulence, but I figured you wouldn't want blown about by the wind! Plus I'm dodging trees! Here's me trying to make this as gentle as possible, and there's _you_ trying to get me killed by _thinking_! Well stop it, no more thinking until we hit the ground! No wonder I'm not written in the stars anymore! After surviving all those murder attempts and torture sessions, I'm going to get killed by a detective having a 'Eureka!' moment!"

L said nothing and just squeezed Harry's hand gently in apology. Well, it was the closest thing to a sincere apology that he'd ever given.

"Well, no harm done I suppose... Just, don't do that again. Look around, enjoy the view! I know we're not high up, but I'd rather not fall in the snow, so I'm serious about you not thinking until we land. Not that we would land in the snow, unless you decided to kick me or something. We're more likely to get personal with a tree."

Ten seconds later, and they were at the edge of the forest. Just less than a minute after that, and they were almost at the castle doors.

"Well, thank you for choosing Potter airways, I hope you had a pleasant flight, please excuse the turbulence mid-flight, I blame the owl. Please take all your rubbish, your bags, and whatever else you boarded with, especially if it's a bomb."

"You are very strange, Harry."

"Takes one to know one."

"Indeed."

They both approached the castle doors, Harry pushing them open with very little effort.

"I have far too much to do and not enough time to do it in... hmm; I may come back again..."

L looked up sharply.

"You said that-"

"Yes, I know. That was for _two_ of us. However, I was trained."

"What-"

"Stop for a minute... Right, warm area with rats just outside the doors..." Harry leaned back outside, brought out his wand, and waved it a few times. "...Check. Patronus with instructions for Seth..." Harry conjured the magnificent stag, and spoke to it in Parseltongue. "...Check. Right, we need the seventh floor..."

"What is Harry planning? This was not part of the agreement at all," L stated forcefully, still irritated at being interrupted.

"Look, I know you don't like things changing, but that's something that's always happening in the magical world, because it's magic. Things change all the time, and the only way to keep up, is to change plans to suit the circumstances, which seems to be my specialty. Anyone that tries to force their plan to work tends to end up injured in some way, or dead. Without the clue from our meeting, this could have ended up taking days, and then I'd be nearing my limits! I wouldn't be able to bring you every time either; then you'd get all bothered by what the sneaky Wizard might be doing behind your back, and it would end up in a fight that I'm sure neither of us could win. Now, seventh floor," Harry replied amiably.

They trudged through many hallways, before coming to the Grand Staircase once again. L was positive that this wasn't the way they had walked the first time, and the fact that the inhabitants of the various portraits could move from one to the next didn't help matters at all. He thought he recognised a loud group of ridiculously dressed intoxicated witches and wizards that were dancing and singing in a field, but didn't have much time to think on it before his attention was caught elsewhere.

"EGGLEBERT! SEVENTH FLOOR, IF YOU WOULD!"

"NO PROBLEM, YOUNG POTTER!"

L watched as the eccentrically dressed portrait pushed and shoved his way down to them, and wondered how a portrait could be out of breath, when they didn't need to breathe in the first place.

"Seventh floor, you said? Right. Ho hum... Take the number one; wait for four to connect, then quickly up number three then five after that, followed by eight, then down number seven. Quickly now!"

That was all it took before they were yet again dashing up many flights of stairs, Harry calling out which stairs to avoid as they raced to the seventh floor before the stairs decided to shift again. By the time they reached the top, they were both out of breath and leaning on their knees. L's eyes were almost rolled back into his head in relief that they had stopped, and he once again thanked the shadows for hiding his weariness. He needed _cake_... and lots of it. He brought out a few jelly beans from his pocket, stuffed them in his mouth, and quickly reduced them to a sludgy mess with his teeth.

"Right... let's go then," said Harry, straightening before starting to walk down the corridor, dragging his heels and rubbing his face.

"Harry Potter! I see that Death is looking over your shoulder and following your steps once again! Are you feeling ill dear? Perhaps it will be an Acromantula, you're dealing with them today are you not?" came a dramatic voice from a side corridor that they had just passed.

L watched as Harry visibly shuddered, before sighing in exasperation as the strange woman trotted up to them. Her extremely frizzy hair, and bulging eyes magnified by the thick glasses she wore, gave the impression that the woman had been electrocuted at some point. Her face showed numerous wrinkles due to stress, and she was dressed gaudily, her shoulders covered by numerous shawls of differing designs that clashed horribly with the flowery dress that she wore.

"Professor Trelawney, this isn't Death, this is my friend Ryuuzaki! He's just shy, that's all!" Harry replied, sounding rather exasperated.

"Oh I do apologise!" she said, almost normally. "Although... Ryuuzaki was it?"

"Yes," L replied.

"My Inner Eye is telling me that terrible things are in your future young man, terrible things indeed! Come up to my tower, and we shall see what destiny awaits you!" she said mystically, waving her hands around in what she probably thought was a mysterious fashion, and making a failed attempt at grabbing L's arm.

"Actually Professor, we have to be going. It's a rather tight schedule, I'm afraid! Sorry! Bye!" Harry replied, grabbing L's arm successfully, and hurrying down the corridor away from Trelawney.

"You can't avoid your destiny forever, dear boy! Death will find you!" she shouted after them both.

"That woman's 'Inner Eye' could do with a bloody 'inner contact lens', she's off her rocker! Can't believe she actually thought you were Death! Every single time... Without fail! Can't just say 'Hello!' and be on her way... No! She has to dish out horrible predictions like some sort of twisted walking fortune cookie of apocalyptic doom..."

L remained quiet.

"Ryuuzaki, don't take her seriously! She predicted my death every day for years!"

"You did die Harry, you said so yourself."

"No, that's... That's different! Honestly, she picks a kid from every year to scare the pants off of, and I'm the only one that's ever died, and even then I'm still here! That woman needs to be taken with a rather large pinch of salt, and I've caught her hiding bottles of cooking sherry, so she might even be drunk."

"She was not intoxicated, Harry."

"Whatever," Harry said dismissively, waving his hand. "She's still proper barmy. She's got to be the only living person to ever haunt the halls of Hogwarts. It'll be in the next edition of 'Hogwarts: A History' under her name if she carries this on. Seriously, how that woman managed a true prophecy is beyond me, let alone how she managed two!"

L couldn't help but mentally agree.

"Why are we here?"

"Seventh floor has the most useful room in the whole castle. The elves call it the Come-and-Go room, also known as the Room of Requirement. Here we are!"

Harry turned to face... A blank stretch of wall. On the opposite wall was a portrait of what L recognised as Trolls, wearing tutu's of all things, trying to hit a man in blue robes with their clubs. The little man was calling out what sounded like dance steps ("one-two-three, one-two-three, almost there Gertrude! Good effort!"), and was frantically dodging the swinging clubs. The little plaque at the bottom of the frame told him that the occupant was _Barnabas the Barmy_, along with his birth and death dates.

"Right, there's nobody around, so here goes. Keep an ear out, would you? I don't want this widely known."

Harry then started to pace in front of the blank stretch of wall with an extremely focussed expression on his face, heightening L's confusion. _What is he doing? Room of... Requirement? Come and Go? _

Suddenly a door materialised on the wall, and L was more shocked at the fact that he wasn't actually very shocked at this happening.

"In we go, and you'll see."

Harry opened the door, and waited for L to step through before entering the room himself and shutting the door behind them.

On one entire wall, there was a view of what L knew to be a part of the Forbidden Forest. It had the same... _feeling_ to it, for lack of a better term. The rest of the room was just that, a room. There was a fireplace on one wall, with a fire burning away, crackling through the otherwise silent room, the sound bringing back memories of curling up and digging his fingers and toes into a soft fluffy rug that he could barely remember. There were dark red armchairs dotted around haphazardly with what looked like beanbags on the floor in between, and along another wall was a long, empty table.

"When I was pacing outside this room, I was basically building a picture in my mind of what I wanted this room to look like, and how I want it to function. This room is absolutely _amazing_. You could recreate forests, lakes, beaches, places, things, all by picturing it in your mind and pacing in front of that blank stretch of wall three times. When I was younger, I would simply pace back and forth, thinking of the words and phrasing it as a question or a statement, and the room would automatically provide an environment suitable for my needs. Since then, I've come to realise that this room was meant to be much more than that. I actually wonder if this room would work for you, you know. It's one thing that 'Mione and I haven't tested yet, whether or not you need magic for this room to work. It would be interesting to find out, but that's for another day."

"...Quite," L muttered absently.

"I've asked that wall," Harry explained, pointing at the view of the forest, "to follow me around, whenever I'm outside. Like a television. It will show this part of the forest until that time. Now, before we go outside, I will message those students – There's no way I'm turning down free labour, after all! – And they will come up here and watch safely. They will be able to hear everything too, so no swearing in front of the kiddies!" Harry grinned, before turning to exit the room. "Come on, we're done here. Don't shut the door though, or it will disappear!"

L did as instructed, and soon they were once again walking through a maze of hallways, this time heading for the library entrance located on the fourth floor. He suspected that if he didn't get cake within the next ten minutes, his reasoning abilities would drop to unacceptable levels.

"Harry."

"Hmm?" Harry replied, not breaking stride.

"I require cake."

Harry stopped. "I knew that I was forgetting something!" he exclaimed, before clapping his hands twice.

There was a loud crack that echoed down the hallway, and L jumped slightly at the loud noise before focussing on the small house-elf that had appeared. It was noticeably younger than Kreacher, and was dressed in a clean tea-towel with the Hogwarts crest on it.

"Lord and Master Harry Potter Sir, and Lord and Master Harry Potter Sir's friend! It is an honour to be serving you, sirs! What can Google be doing for Lord and Master Harry Potter Sir and his friend?" the happy elf squeaked excitedly.

"Ah... Eh... Hello there Google, I haven't met you before have I?" asked Harry, scratching the back of his head, pulling his hair over his scar, and grimacing in distaste. The young elf shook its head so fast that its long ears caused a noticeable draught. "In that case, I insist that you just call me Harry. Just Harry."

Google looked like she'd been slapped, L noticed. At least, he thought that Google was a 'she'.

"Oh no Sirs! I cannot be doing that! You is deserving!"

"I really would prefer for you to simply refer to me as 'Harry' though... Anyway, can we have a whole cake, please? Any preference Ryuuzaki?"

"Strawberry."

"Right, one whole strawberry cake please, Google!"

"Lord and Master Harry Potter Sir says _please_! To lowly Google! The stories are _true!_"

"Google, I'm just 'Harry'!"

"Lord and Master Harry Potter Sir, you is!"

"Harry," Harry stated.

"Lord and Master Harry?"

Harry sighed. "Master Harry, and that's my final offer!"

The elf grinned toothily. "Master Harry it is! I will be bringing one whole strawberry cake, right away Master Harry Sir and Lord and Master Harry Potter Sir's Zaki!" _Crack_.

"Hang on!" Harry exclaimed, staring at where the elf had been.

"I do believe you have just been outsmarted by a house-elf," L said smugly, chewing on his thumb happily.

"I wouldn't say outsmarted..." Harry said, blushing furiously.

"I would. She'll refer to you personally as 'Master Harry Sir', but she will speak about you to others, and in connection with others, as 'Lord and Master Harry Potter Sir'. It's rather amusing, especially since it obviously makes you so... _uncomfortable_. I would like to know _why_."

Harry almost recoiled at the tone of voice from the usually blank detective. He would actually prefer the blankness, perhaps then he would feel less like _prey_. It was the tone of voice that said that L would find out whether Harry wanted him to or not. He would keep asking, and poking, and prodding, and bringing up memories that weren't worth the dust on his boots. Harry's thoughts raced, and without thinking, he just _reacted_. He turned to L with a snarl on his lips and glared fiercely at where he _knew_ those black all-seeing eyes resided.

"It is absolutely _none_ of your _damn_ business why, and seeing as your _job_ no longer requires you to stick your nose where it doesn't belong, I'd appreciate it if you would leave well enough alone! It's damn _creepy_ is what it is! You already know far more than you bloody well should!"

_He's extremely threatened, defensive behaviour... there's something to hide, something big that he doesn't want known... Big mistake, Harry Potter, big mistake... Curiosity heightened by seventy-three point four two percent..._

"As you wish," L stated tonelessly.

Harry stared dubiously for a moment, before continuing down the corridor, feeling strangely like he'd just lost something precious.

"We have less than an hour," stated Harry, just as tonelessly, and L followed, nibbling his thumb and lost in his thoughts, lengthening his stride to match Harry's.

Two _cracks_ later, there was a massive strawberry cake floating in front of L's face. Harry watched in amazement as L seemingly brought his fork out from nowhere and immediately dug into the edge, a massive chunk of cake disappearing into the shadows.

"I'll just have it float beside you as we walk... I'll assume that I don't even have to ask if you're willing to walk and eat at the same time..." Harry said faintly. The only reply was another chunk of cake rapidly disappearing into the... _abyss_. The man could perhaps even put Ron to shame with the sheer speed that he was shovelling that cake into his mouth, and that was saying something. Harry shook himself before turning and continuing down the corridor, trying to ignore the chewing and slurping that he could hear behind him, and failing miserably.

Suddenly, a wide grin stretched across Harry's features, and with a flick of his fingers, he conjured a fork. Turning around, he swiftly cut out a normal sized piece of cake with the edge of the fork, and quickly popped it in his mouth. Observing L's reaction, he wasn't disappointed.

L had frozen in place, his fork hovering above the site of his next incision and shaking slightly as he stared in disbelief at the small triangle shaped wedge that marred the other side of _his_ cake. _His cake! _Nobody took his cake!

"So _this_ is why you constantly push people's buttons, hm? I must say that it _is_ rather amusing..." Harry stated whilst smirking. _Smirking._

"That... Was totally uncalled for, Harry."

"So why are you so... _possessive_ over your cake then?" asked Harry, still grinning like an idiot.

L glared from behind his hood.

"Is it no longer considered polite to ask before taking?" L replied evenly.

"Whatever you say, Sam, whatever you say. Oh and glaring loses its effect when nobody can see your face," Harry said smugly before continuing down the corridor and lifting up the corner of a tapestry to reveal a secret passageway.

"This will take us to the fourth floor, just round the corner from the library. It's got no stairs, so you can keep stuffing your face, but the librarian will have a fit if you take it inside, so you've got five more minutes."

L ducked inside the passageway, before increasing his rate of consumption by fifty percent, much to Harry's disgust, and his own personal satisfaction. He decided that it would be wisest not to question how they would traverse three floors without encountering any stairs, especially since he had a limited time in which to consume as much cake as possible.

A/N: Next time, you'll find out what happens with the Acromantula, plus a certain Task Force show up :-) Hopefully the next chapter after that won't take as long for me to chew through! Although I will say that my health takes priority, especially now since I have a wheelchair! Yey! I can go out now! So I won't be doing anything stupid that will set me back, like spending a night and a day churning out bits of story. I'll do what I can, when I can! Plus there's a bunch of ideas for a couple of my other stories that need sorted too. It'll all get done at some point!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: - Even though it's obvious that I don't own anything, I'd still like to point out that yeah, I lifted bits of the Manga, sorry about that. Terrible memory, plus the originals always tell it better... I changed a few words here and there to appease my guilt slightly. I highly recommend getting hold of the manga; either buy it or look it up online, since there's bits that I haven't regurgitated, like the rules for the Death Note.

**Chapter 14**

"I can't believe you passed up the chance to ogle the library! Instead you actually _chose_ to come out here with me," Harry stated in disbelief, his hands waving erratically. "I pegged you as someone who would go through that library like a man possessed... Since you're coming with, I really mean it when I say no screaming; these spiders are seriously big, and I actually think that they like it better when people scream."

Harry and L were walking towards the forest yet again, and L was becoming anxious over the amount of time they had left, but was wary of saying anything since he knew that students were watching and listening. He already knew that they had gotten back on time, but he was still anxious. He chose to respond to Harry's statement with silence, and he hurried his steps slightly. Thankfully Harry seemed to get the hint and quickened his own steps, staying silent until they were almost at the edge of the forest.

"Here will do." They both stopped walking a good few yards from the edge of the forest.

"Right, let's get started... For the benefit of the students watching this – Hello, by the way – I'll let you know what's been done so far." As he was speaking, Harry held a hand in the air and wiggled his fingers as if saying hello.

"Acromantula are afraid of Basilisks, so one of my snake friends, Seth, agreed to play the part of a Basilisk. He's been out roaming around for a couple of hours now, which has put them into a bit of a panic from what Fawkes has told me," Harry said, pointing to the sky over the forest.

"You'll hear Fawkes singing when he flies back this way, which should be any minute now. What the Acromantula are just now finding out, is that I've sent in eight _more_ giant Basilisk snakes, and I doubt that they're very happy at the moment. The snakes have been instructed to keep the Acromantula contained within specific boundaries, and I should mention that they are very happy to do so, especially seeing as how the Acromantula have been taking over their hunting grounds. You can thank snakes like them – and of course, Hogwarts very own top notch team of hard working house-elves – for the lack of rodents around and inside Hogwarts, along with everyone's cats I suppose..."

Harry scratched his head before shoving his hands into pockets that were hidden in the folds of his cloak. "Ooh a Galleon..." he muttered absentmindedly as he brought out a large, gold coin. L's eyes widened as he wondered if it was actually real gold. Harry shoved the Galleon back into his pocket and shook his head slightly before continuing.

"The aim here is to somewhat peacefully alert the Acromantula to the fact that they have overstepped several decades' worth of unspoken agreements between themselves and Hogwarts, whilst at the same time letting them know that quite frankly, we won't be walked over, and we won't stand by as they take what isn't theirs. Greedy spiders... The forest is inherently magical, but it depends on the variety of life within it. If the Acromantula carry on like this, your grandchildren would be calling it the Dead Forest. Many rare potions ingredients thrive on the ambient magic in this forest, and so do many, many magical creatures. You may already know that the Unicorns haven't been sighted for almost three years. Assistant Professor Longbottom has probably told you repeatedly about certain plants becoming even rarer as the Acromantula take over more territory."

At that moment, singing could be heard, and Fawkes swooped down to land on Harry's shoulder, trilling and chirruping.

"The leader of the closest nest is on his way, with three of his buddies. We've got about two minutes, according to Fawkes. Tea, Ryuuzaki? Oh and yes Fawkes, you'll get some berries."

L turned to face Harry incredulously.

"Right, stupid question. Google!" _Crack_.

"What can Google-?"

"Two teas, and berries for Fawkes please Google! Oh and a whole lot of sugar cubes. No time-" _crack_ "-to waste on pleasantries... hm."

"How can Harry even think of drinking tea at this time?" L asked in a level tone.

"How are you _not_ thinking of drinking tea at this time? That's got to be a first," stated Harry with a lopsided grin. A double _crack_ split the air, and a tray with two cups of tea, two spoons, and a pyramid of sugar cubes, a small pitcher of milk, and a plate of assorted berries appeared between them. Muted inhuman shrieking noises could be heard echoing from the forest.

"This does not strike me as being a good idea," L stated, even as he started filling his cup with sugar cubes, frowning as the liquid level became dangerously high, threatening to slop over the edge of the cup.

"Nonsense. There's never a bad time for a cup of tea."

The shrieking sounds were getting closer.

Harry hummed. "I wonder if Acromantula like tea."

L thought he saw movement.

"Harry... Perhaps we should put the tea away," L suggested absently, his mind trying to comprehend the sheer size of the spiders that were moving towards them. It hadn't quite struck him before that when Harry said huge, he meant _huge_. The pictures didn't do them justice at all.

"Nah, it will be educational for them. Humans, lesson one. Many humans drink tea," Harry stated, blowing across the surface of his beverage and sipping carefully.

"Somehow it would not surprise me to learn that education does not interest them in the slightest, especially at this time," L replied quietly, observing the angry Acromantula.

"_You!"_ stated a deep gravelly voice from the direction of the spiders. They had stopped inside the forest, refusing to step out of the darkness.

"Oh, good! You know who I am! Then I assume that there is no need to introduce myself, and that we don't need to waste everyone's time with useless introductions," Harry stated, sipping his tea. "Listen very carefully. We have been fighting with your colony for far too long. You have decades of evidence that will tell you that if you don't interfere with us, we won't interfere with you. Unfortunately, your colony decided to disregard this and has _repeatedly_ threatened Hogwarts and her students, not to mention driving various other residents of the forest out of their homes. So... now you have some happy Basilisks that will spend at least the next week with you, patrolling the new edges of your territory."

The Acromantula made screeches of protest that had L almost covering his ears. Harry stood and watched as if it was nothing, sipping his tea and not batting an eye. His expression was harsh, although it held no trace of cruelty; only a determination and strength of will that almost made the older man shiver in its intensity, as if it were a physical presence around them. Fawkes was glaring at the Acromantula from his spot on Harry's shoulder, adding to the overall effect.

L, the faceless man who could command police and military forces across the world, was rather impressed, it had to be said. Again.

"Argue all you want, but it was either this, or magically fencing you in somehow, and probably shipping half of you at least to the Dark Forest. This is not just _your_ forest. You have to share it," Harry continued.

The spiders were clicking their pincers in rage, and seemed to be speaking to each other.

"_Unacceptable, human,"_ the voice spat.

Harry gave a grim smile, and raised his eyebrows.

"If you hadn't noticed, I wasn't asking for your acceptance." _Sip_. "I actually think I'm being rather nice by telling you what is happening. I don't think you realise how serious things are getting. Some of your little lackeys tried to snatch a student, which I am sure you are aware of. You can blame the twenty or so Acromantula that were involved in that incident for your current situation, no doubt they have been bragging about how close they got, am I right? Yes?"

Angry clicking. L slurped his tea, causing numerous beady eyes to focus on him, before they ignored him, focussing on the main threat. Under ordinary circumstances, L would have been insulted.

"I see that I'm right," Harry continued, rolling his eyes. "This would have happened eventually you realise, even if that incident had never occurred. You might have had an extra few months or so, but eventually they would have brought me in, probably after some more fighting between your colony and the Aurors, which would be a big waste of time for everyone." _Sip_. "You need to sort out a proper leader, and you need to control the size of the colony. If things get worse, it _will_ end up with a good many members of your colony dying, which I really do not want to have to see, and believe me, I _would_ be there. The forest is not big enough; the Centaurs will get even more annoyed, and what little life is left will be long gone, forcing you to eat each other. I will come back in a week or so; I suggest you take this information back to the colony and all have a think about it. If you can all come to a sensible agreement, then I might even think about finding some deer or something, and starting off a herd. Only if you all stop being selfish with the forest though, otherwise I'll do nothing."

The clicking stopped, and after a few minutes of strange squeaking and screeching, the spiders retreated, much to Harry's surprise.

"I suspect that the temporary Basilisks were unnecessary after all Harry. All you had to do was mention introducing a herd of deer."

"Ah... Still though, it's some impressive spellwork on 'Mione's part, and I for one, am _not_ going to be the one to tell her that she just practically exhausted herself for nothing," said Harry, staring after the retreating spiders with a bemused look on his face.

"...Good point."

Fawkes chirped and nibbled Harry's earlobe before launching himself into the air and disappearing over the forest, presumably to follow the spiders.

"Right, students! That's all for today; hopefully it's now abundantly clear as to why this forest is forbidden. It might actually be a good idea for you to perhaps do an inter-house group project on this subject, actually. In fact yes... With all four houses working together, you might be able to make something that would shock the pants off your teachers. The more kids you get involved, the better the look on their faces would be. Imagine McGonagall, absolutely speechless with shock... So... questions to think about! What is _wrong_ with our forest? What is the _cause_? What are the _effects_? How long will those effects last? What can be done to _fix_ it? These are all good questions, and I'm sure you can think of many more."

Harry made as if to turn away, and L saw a smirk.

"Oh and of course, anyone who chooses to be involved with this project, and who pulls their own weight will be rewarded with a five Galleon gift certificate for the Hogsmeade store of their choice. As usual, I _will know_ who has worked hard and who hasn't. I hope you all enjoy the surprise that I heard about from two of your Professors, although I'm still not telling you what it is! Oh, and you're free to go. The last person out should close the door... The end. We can say whatever we want now Ryuuzaki, the students can't see or hear us anymore," Harry said before banishing everything except L's cup to the Hogwarts kitchen. L nodded, but said nothing.

The two men waited until the Acromantula were well out of sight and hearing range before turning and heading towards the large entrance gates. L was silent, happily sipping his sludge, contemplating the physiology of both the Acromantula and the Bowtruckle that he'd seen, along with what he had seen from Harry. Harry was wondering where he was going to find a large herd of deer going spare. All in all, it was a pleasant walk spent in companionable silence, interrupted only by the sounds of L slurping his tea, and then asking Harry to dispose of the cup.

They were just approaching the massive entrance gates when Harry felt it. He froze in place, almost causing L to knock into him, but fortunately for them both L was paranoid enough to have noticed the change in Harry's behaviour even when consumed by his own thoughts, and L neatly sidestepped around Harry's still form, not that Harry himself really noticed.

"Make sure you keep your hood up at all times, I get the feeling that we are being watched, I know it well and I am never wrong." Harry bit out, before roughly pulling his own hood over his head. He turned to L and continued in a much softer tone, "I apologise, but I'm going to have to hide us both, and you'll need to take my hand otherwise we won't be able to see each other. Plus you wouldn't get out of the gates."

"Who and where?" L asked in as calm a tone as he could muster. Harry grabbed his hand just as L felt as if someone had broken an egg on his head.

"I have no idea. I just know that something unknown had its eyes on me, and... Will you stop it? I can still hear you, and I assure you that you can't scratch off a Disillusionment Charm, no matter how hard you try!"

They were now walking at a considerably faster pace, and had almost reached the gates.

"Harry could have at least warned me that he would be pouring this... _Disillusionment_ _Charm_ over my head," L muttered unhappily.

"Well _excuse_ _me_ for being more worried about what the hell was staring holes through my skull! We need to get the hell out of here, and _fast_." Harry tried not to drag L, and hoped that the man wouldn't ask questions that he couldn't answer. "Not a student, not a teacher, Fawkes is watching the forest..."

What actually rattled Harry the most, was that this gaze felt completely unfamiliar. How he knew this, he wasn't sure, but he didn't like it one bit.

L tried not to panic. Even a complete idiot would be able to tell that Harry was tense, and after seeing him deal with the acromantula without batting an eye, actually seeing the man tense worried him more than he cared to admit. L noticed that the stone boars on either side of the gates spread their wings and actually _bowed their heads_ at Harry, the gates creaking open slightly just before the two young men reached them, and L made a note to ask Harry why at a more convenient time. He'd learnt his lesson when flying, after all. The two dashed through the gap, the gates closing with a resounding _clang_ that could probably be heard from the castle.

"Thanks Hogwarts, bye!"

L's mind teemed with possibilities, fighting to form a certain percentage in the split second before he was grabbed.

_The probability of Hogwarts itself being fully sentient is... I... don't... can't... _

_Crack_.

_Hogwarts _likes_ Harry? How... How can a _castle_ like a _person?_ It's absurd!_

L stumbled and would have fallen if Harry hadn't been holding him tightly. As it was, he was gasping for breath, his knees felt like jelly, and the cake he'd eaten was threatening to reappear.

_Magic._

"I'm really _really_ sorry! You must feel pretty awful right now, but the good news is that I don't feel those creepy eyes on me anymore."

L pushed himself away from Harry and leaned against the wall of the tunnel, noting that they seemed to have appeared in Harry's home; or at least, the tunnel leading to it. The 'Ghostlights' were rather distinctive, after all. Having been created accidentally by Harry himself, L found it unlikely that those specific torches would be found anywhere else. They obviously weren't available publicly, if they hadn't even had a proper name until earlier that day.

"I want... to kick you. Repeatedly. Also, if I am not mistaken, there is still another Portkey, plus another of these 'jumps' of yours after that."

Harry winced slightly and sighed, before pulling at his hair.

"You uhm... You get used to it, after a while," Harry mumbled sheepishly, before starting off down the tunnel, scuffing his feet slightly. "At least I took the charm off you without you noticing, or you'd have a weird tingly feeling to complain about too. Now, we can either walk all the way to the other end, or I can grab you and fly there in less than twenty seconds."

"I would prefer to walk, but you know as well as I do that there is no time," L stated monotonously, having regained his usual composure.

"Well, yes, but it's polite to ask."

L mentally shuddered at the thought of how many times he'd already had to deal with being touched, and he shuddered physically at the thought of further contact in his immediate future, but he steeled himself and took slow shuffling steps towards Harry, who gave him an apologetic look.

"It won't be long now, and everything will be normal again for a little while. I suppose all this must still be a little shocking for you, but well... at least you now have firsthand experience that everything I told you was the absolute truth. There really _is_ a whole hidden society out there, not just one random crazy Wizard who has decided to pick on you for some strange reason."

Harry reached out and took L's hand, and suddenly the lights were passing them faster than L could comprehend, and he briefly wondered if they were going to end up crashing into the door, before remembering that they had already returned... well not quite yet, but he clearly remembered hearing _himself_... this time he did feel the air moving past his face, and he remembered that while they were outside, Harry had mentioned something about stopping the wind. He was reluctant to even blink at this speed, afraid that darkness would be the last thing he would ever see, even if it was irrational of him.

Only an idiot would close their eyes seconds away from death.

Thankfully they did not crash, and Harry slowed them down in plenty of time, which L was also thankful for. He was half expecting Harry to bring them to a screeching halt inches from disaster, as L watched the contents of his stomach carry on to splat against the door in a disgusting, embarrassing mess.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, L removed his hand from Harry's, and shoved it in his pocket, bringing out a strawberry lollipop. Harry said nothing, and just smiled slightly as L held out the empty wrapper. Harry snatched it quickly and closed his fist around it, making the plastic rustle, before opening his hand and revealing that the wrapper had disappeared.

L just stuck the lollipop in his mouth, and made no comment.

"Awh, it's no fun doing the 'muggle' tricks when you know my secret!" Harry exclaimed, obviously irritated. "Especially with that hood up!"

Harry was actually _pouting_. Eyebrows drawn together in a frown, and bottom lip stuck out in a childish manner...

Without being consciously aware of it, L grinned slightly behind his shadows as he followed Harry through the familiar hallways to the Portkey Room, again following a route that should have been impossible by normal standards. It wasn't long before they were once again in the Portkey Room, where Harry walked (bounced, really) over to one of the walls, and proceeded to point at a seemingly innocent patch of wall.

"Since you love kicking people so much, you can do the honours."

Harry was grinning, and L didn't like that grin.

"I am absolutely positive that I heard you correctly, but just to clarify... You wish for me to kick that wall," L stated blandly.

"In that exact spot, yes. You can just make out some shoe-goo on the wall there; I'll have to have words with Kreacher... Not much of a secret if even a Troll could tell it's there. That was two weeks ago... Anyway, it needs a strong kick, so give it your best shot."

"No."

"You're an absolute killjoy, you do realise this, don't you?"

"It's common sense Harry."

"Again with ruining all the surprises. There's common sense and then there's paranoia. You, my strange new friend, are far too paranoid for your own good." Harry sounded disappointed. Perhaps even a bit sad.

L stood silently, his mind torn between anger, denial, sadness, and perhaps a tiny shred of hope. Anger at Harry's use of the word 'friend' in an attempt to make him feel bad just for being cautious... Denial, because he didn't believe that Harry really saw him as a friend of any sort; after all, how could Harry be 'friends' with a person who kidnapped, humiliated, interrogated, and then restrained him? Sadness... because having a friend would be... nice. Perhaps in time, they could be friends... and that was where the little seedling of hope planted itself. Yes, Harry had mentioned being friends with him in front of others, but that was obviously purely for appearances sake.

"I dislike surprises," was the most appropriate response L could give.

"Unless they're spongy and cake-ish."

"Perhaps. I think I shall just watch Harry kick the wall instead."

"Harry is right here and thinks that L needs to stop talking _about_ people and start talking _to_ them, and then maybe he will remember that he is in fact human, just like the rest of us, no matter how much he might wish that he wasn't."

L froze, and yet again Harry seemed to know _exactly_ where L's eyes were.

"_Harry_ thought it would be a nice gesture to let his guest open the Super Secret Portkey Stash, but L has decided for some stupid reason that Harry is out to get him, even though we've already been through this argument a dozen times. Harry wonders exactly what and how long it will take before L realises that Harry is _not_ the enemy, so that he can begin using that gigantic brain of his for more _useful_ things, like reading the monstrously thick manual for my nice new car. Maybe if he learns to let go a bit, L might stumble across the concept of _fun_."

"We do not have time for this."

"Unfortunately, L is correct, so Harry will kick the wall, and L will stand well back."

L severely disliked being mocked in such a fashion, and he was positive that Harry was exaggerating. After all, it's not like he referred to _himself_ in third person. He wanted to be perceived as impersonal and unbiased, not mentally challenged.

Harry eyed the patch of wall as he moved a bit further away to give himself some space, and with a grin he sprinted a few steps before leaping up, twisting his body gracefully in the air, and delivering an extremely powerful kick to the wall. Harry then kicked off the wall, flipping himself backwards to land on both feet, facing the wall.

Said wall then made a happy, cheerful ringing noise before a panel slid sideways, revealing the biggest pile of junk that L had ever seen.

"Right, we're looking for a row of black and gold chopsticks. I think they're next to the wooden chopsticks with red dragons on... Try not to touch anything, and if you do, don't say a word. Knowing my luck you'd pick the trigger word, and I'd have to come after you."

"What on Earth...?"

"Actually, it's more like _where_ on Earth. It's actually pretty simple, you know. For example, those baseballs all end up in America somewhere, the hockey pucks go to Canada, Hawaii's got those flowery things hanging up there, Belgium's got those fondue forks up on that shelf, and those little wooden pencils with IKEA stamped on them go to Sweden. Neat, huh? Australia's got the boomerangs; Russia was a tossup between using either little painted spoons, or those painted doll things that fit inside each other, so I've got both, since Russia is huge. It might all look like a giant mess, but there's order in the chaos! Ah! Here are the dragon chopsticks... They go to China, by the way... Here are the Japanese ones!"

Harry emerged from the massive cupboard holding a single black chopstick with gold vines painted on it.

"This will dump us at my apartment. I had a few made before I left, just in case. Good thing too."

"Now that you have explained about the clutter, it does make a lot of sense," was all that L could say. "We have less than one minute, by the way."

"Clutter? That took me _months_ of organisation... I know, I know. We're cutting it rather close, but then I always do."

Harry held out the chopstick for L to grab. L reluctantly reached out and wrapped his hand around it.

"Voldemort."

L sucked in a breath as he was yet again dragged across the globe by his bellybutton, and for the second time he was almost sure he was about to die – when suddenly a floor was visible, and he struggled to right himself in vain.

They both landed in a tangled heap on the living room floor of Harry's apartment, and neither could hold back their groans of discomfort as they untangled themselves and stood up shakily.

"I severely dislike portkeys. Whoever invented them obviously was not aiming for comfort," L stated, rubbing his hipbone.

"I hate them too, can't stand the things, but then it beats apparating everywhere," Harry replied, wincing as he felt a twinge in his ankle from where L had landed on his legs. Perhaps apparating was better after all.

"No, it doesn't. Remember to put your other face back on, and leave the signal," said L.

L suddenly stared at the door to the other room, wide eyed as he remembered himself saying those _exact same words!_

"Ah! Thanks for that, I would have forgotten; I'll do my face back at the hotel. Come on, we've got to hurry, are you ready?" Harry replied normally as he poked L on the arm to regain his attention.

"No," L replied as he turned back to Harry, mind racing as Harry grabbed him once again, turning them slightly on the spot as they disappeared from the flat, only to reappear in the new hotel suite across Tokyo moments later in front of a startled Watari.

"Dear _Lord!_" Watari exclaimed breathlessly, before reaching into a pocket of his suit and bringing out a handkerchief, mopping his forehead as he stared in disbelief at the two men who had just appeared in front of him. "Is... Is that you, Ryuuki?" he asked carefully.

"Oh! That's right... Yes, this is what I really look like. Don't worry, this really is L," he added, seeing that L hadn't removed his hood yet. "L, you can take the hood down now..."

L ignored Harry and Watari, and instead moved towards his computer, staring at the time. He then moved to the window, ignoring Harry's protests about people seeing the shadows in front of his face, and stared at the darkness outside, before turning to face Watari.

"I require cake Watari, and tea. With lots of sugar cubes."

"On the cart, L," Watari replied, a bit worried that L hadn't already noticed the loaded cart.

"That cloak needs to come off now," Harry stated. His eyes were narrowed slightly at L.

L reluctantly took the cloak off and handed it to Harry, before slouching over to an armchair and perching on it in his usual manner, his blank expression firmly in place.

Harry and Watari glanced at each other before seating themselves.

"L... You're actually wearing _boots?_" Watari asked incredulously.

L's hand paused above his teacup, a sugar cube between his finger and thumb. He looked down at his feet.

"...So it appears..." L mumbled absently, dropping the sugar cube into his teacup. "Will these come off now?"

"Yes, no worries on that score. Just pull them off like normal boots," Harry replied as he took a trunk out of his pocket and enlarged it, before stuffing the two cloaks into it haphazardly.

Thankfully, L managed to remove the boots with little fuss, and he held one up to inspect it.

"Do you mean to say, that those boots are in fact _not_ normal?" asked Watari.

"Not really..." Harry replied with a chuckle. "They're Dragon hide, from a Hungarian Horntail actually. It's my way of getting back at the one that tried to roast me when I was fourteen. Plus there's a whole bunch of spells for cleaning and comfort."

"I shouldn't have asked..." said Watari faintly. "Dragons..."

L mentally thanked Harry for neglecting to mention the sizing incident.

"So," L stated. "We have two hours until the Task Force arrives. Harry, you need to become Ryuuki again. I will begin to document the events of the past ten minutes in great detail, and shall try to explain as much as I can to Watari whilst doing so."

Harry chuckled and said, "L, did you just make an attempt at a joke?"

L just sipped his tea, finishing it before hopping off his chair, ignoring Harry in favour of retrieving his laptop. He opened it, and almost sighed aloud when the comforting _hum_ soon lulled him into a sense of normality.

Harry shrugged before conjuring a mirror, making it float in front of him as he proceeded to start reshaping his face, thereby shattering L's hastily constructed illusion.

Would things _ever_ be normal with Harry around?

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

It was nearing midnight, and L, Watari, and Harry – who was once again disguised as 'Ryuuki' – were waiting anxiously for the Task Force to arrive. Not that any of them showed any anxiety, of course, but it could be felt in the air, and in the silence that had stretched on for almost ten minutes. Surprisingly, it was L who spoke first.

"It would be best if you were to say as little as possible when the Task Force arrives, for now at least."

"I know, I know. It's your show, it's you that they need to trust most of all, so I'll be as quiet as possible, and I won't say anything unless it's absolutely necessary," Ryuuki replied.

"That would be a good idea."

"Time to think like a muggle again too, I suppose."

L saw an opening.

"That shouldn't be too difficult. Didn't you say you grew up in a muggle household?"

"Yes, I did. Perhaps I should have mentioned that my relatives were idiots. It's in the past; it's nothing to do with Kira. It's irrelevant, so stop fishing."

"Wasn't it you that said I should get to know you better?"

"Nice try, but it works both ways. Didn't you say you grew up...? Oh, that's right, you didn't," Harry retorted.

"I can assure you that I did in fact grow up, as can plainly be seen-"

"Oh, put a sock in it. You know _exactly_ what I meant."

L actually glared at Harry before pointedly shuffling away towards his ever present stash of sweets, absently noting that the remains of the Task Force would arrive in a matter of minutes, depending on the elevator... Plenty of time for a snack. Watari was in his usual hat and trench coat, standing by the door.

"Oh, one last spell before they get here, since I'm going to be restricted for a while!"

L spun round quickly and stared warily at Harry, a truffle pinched between forefinger and thumb, but to his relief the Wizard was facing the other way. Suddenly there was a flash, and a _huge_ bunch of flowers appeared in his hand.

"That's rather a lot of flowers..."

"Ah. Yes. I suppose I should make a vase too," Harry replied, before he spotted a decorative urn out of the corner of his eye. "No worries, there's one over there!" he said happily, before stuffing the stems into the urn. L mumbled something around his truffle, and Harry grinned back at him.

"You're right, they do need water, I suppose. No problem!"

"That's not what I said at all..." L started after swallowing some of the truffle. "I said you're not supposed to do that..." he trailed off, hearing many sets of footsteps approaching the door. "Ryuuki, fix it!"

"All good," Harry announced, before flopping onto a seat. "Job done, mission accomplished, and you are no longer antsy. They don't smell bad this time, either..."

"You-" L started mumbling, before he was cut off.

Knock, knock.

"Please enter," L called in a bored voice. L stood in the middle of the next room between where Harry was sitting and the door, facing the door. Five men walked in and stopped when they saw L.

"I'm L."

Harry smiled slightly when he noticed that L had decided to stay barefoot, and in fact hadn't made any attempt to improve his appearance at all. He still wore his baggy jeans and white shirt, and his hair was just as untidy as usual. At that moment, L used one of his feet to scratch his other ankle, and kept his balance perfectly. Harry absently wondered if L was secretly a gymnast or something. He could even be a ballet dancer for all Harry knew.

The five men who had just entered the room stared in shock at the dishevelled young man in front of them, not a single one noticing either Harry sitting on the sofa behind L, or indeed Watari in his hat and trenchcoat closing the door behind them.

"I'm Detective Superintendent Yagami of the NPA," the Chief stated. This seemed to spur the others into action.

"I'm Matsuda."

"I'm Aizawa." This man had the most perfect muggle afro Harry had ever seen.

"I'm Ukita." He looked slightly older than Matsuda.

"I'm Mogi." He was taller and broader than anyone in the room, and looked as if he should be a doorman. Nobody would get into that guy's nightclub unless he said so, Harry could tell.

"Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead," Harry muttered to himself, quietly enough so that not even L heard him.

L raised his arm in a crude imitation of a gun, and pointed it lazily at the Chief. "Bang," he said flatly. Harry fought a chuckle... Maybe the odd detective did have a sense of humour after all, even if it was... flat.

The NPA officers all recoiled in shock, and the one called Aizawa shouted, "Is this your idea of a joke?"

"If I was Kira, you'd be dead Yagami-san," L stated simply, seemingly indifferent to the protests. The Chief swallowed heavily.

"All Kira needs to murder someone is knowledge of their name and their face. You ought to know this by now..." L continued blandly.

Harry tuned L's speech out momentarily as he began to worry slightly. He already knew what was being said. They only just got here, and already he was wondering if this was such a good idea. He couldn't think of anything other than a _magical_ artefact being the cause of the deaths, and now with the NPA officers here nothing _magical_ could be discussed. Harry was sure that they'd be here daily from now on, meaning that the advantage of working with L wouldn't be as great. Just as he got one obstacle out of the way, another appeared. Harry would have to behave just like any of the other officers, meaning he would be just as restricted _now_ as he would have been if he hadn't told L about magic, if not _more_ so because of him being a Wizard... L would want to keep an eye on him. He resurfaced from his thoughts just as L was gesturing to move through to the area where Harry was sitting, asking for everyone to leave their cell phones, laptops, and other electronic devices on the table.

Whatever Matsuda was going to say was quickly lost in oblivion as one by one, the officers noticed Harry for the first time. Harry held up a hand and gave a sort of half wave, smirking slightly at the various looks of shock.

"Kinjo?" inquired the Chief, squinting slightly behind his glasses.

"It is!" muttered Matsuda, before raising his voice slightly. "Kinjo-san! Where have you been?"

"A good question," said the Chief, but he was staring at L as he spoke.

"Wait a minute..." said Ukita, "Take away the glasses, change his eyes... Anyone else see what I'm seeing?"

Harry resisted the urge to fidget, but couldn't help blurting, "Should I take my glasses off and look bored for comparison's sake?"

Matsuda stifled a chuckle, and Watari might have been amused. It was hard to tell. L shot Harry a warning look, and Harry sighed mentally. He _hated_ being stared at. Plus his 'Kinjo' character hadn't been totally serious at the NPA, especially with Matsuda being his break buddy more often than not. He had said he would be quiet, but he wasn't going to be ignorant.

Everyone was stood awkwardly under the arch that separated the two areas of the room except for Harry, who had been sitting there the whole time, and L, who stood on a chair before settling into his customary crouch before speaking.

"As you might be aware, Kinjo-san worked at the NPA for a short time, before disappearing. As you can see, he is unharmed, and will be working with us."

"Why did he disappear though?" asked Aizawa suspiciously. _Damn_, Harry thought, _here's where he paints me with the idiot brush._

"For one, his history was full of irregularities which could not be ignored. Secondly, the resemblance between us could potentially cause problems." L continued speaking before any more questions could be asked. "Two things, before I continue. Don't write down anything I say here, just keep it in your heads. Don't call me 'L' anymore; call me 'Ryuuzaki', both for safety's sake. Please, sit down."

The officers looked at each other before each finding a seat around the coffee table. Watari had left everything necessary to make tea, and L wasted no time in picking up a cup, placing it on a saucer in front of him. Before L could start, Matsuda spoke.

"I just had an idea! If we know that Kira needs to know people's names and faces, then can't we tell the media to stop broadcasting that information? That might limit the number of victims!" Matsuda said excitedly.

L looked sideways at Matsuda. "If we do that, ordinary people will be killed," he said flatly.

"Ordinary people?"

"Huh? Why?"

L took a sip of his tea.

"Kira is childish and hates losing. I'm also childish and hate losing, that's how I know," L said.

Harry silently agreed, but noticed that the other officers looked confused. Watari had sneaked out at some point without Harry noticing again, and he took a mental note to keep better track of Watari in future.

"L... No, Ryuuzaki... Could you explain that a little more clearly?" asked the Chief.

This did not ease Harry's worries in the slightest. He could only hope that the Chief was only reaffirming his own theories or _something_, otherwise it would be slow going... The man surely had enough pieces of the puzzle... Couldn't any of them...? Perhaps he had been spending too much time with Hermione. Perhaps it was because they were muggles? Harry did have the advantage of knowing that the impossible _was_ in fact possible, and that it happened every day, probably under their very noses. It was a well known fact that some muggle police officers had been obliviated repeatedly, simply for attending the _wrong_ crime scenes... Harry eyed the NPA officers curiously, wondering if any of them had ever had to be obliviated.

Harry listened to L's explanation. L had been slurping his tea during Harry's mental wanderings, so he hadn't missed anything.

"That time I used the broadcast to challenge him... Kira, who as far as we know had only killed criminals until then, didn't hesitate to kill me. That is, the death row inmate that he thought was me. Then, when I said he was in the Kanto region around Tokyo, he started concentrating on Japanese criminals. By the time he killed the FBI agents, he was concentrating on criminals in the Kanto area."

Yagami straightened. "Every time you challenge him, instead of backing off he cockily responds with a challenge of his own."

"He always has to win, he can't stand losing," Matsuda said.

"What would happen if we restricted media information from someone like that?" L asked rhetorically. "He'd say, 'Withhold criminals from me and I will kill liars and cheaters! I'll even kill innocent people! I'm taking the whole world hostage!' and he'd say, 'It'll be your fault, not mine. Those who shield evil doers from my judgement are evil themselves!' That is Kira's mental process."

Harry noticed that L's big toes had started 'battling' each other or something, and wished he hadn't. Now would _not_ be a good time to laugh. Instead, he reached forward and grabbed a cup, before pouring himself a tea.

"About the media..." L continued, "We should be shielding how many of us are currently working to catch Kira. While we're at it, we should work out how to use the media to our benefit."

L then spoke quieter, and Harry thought about the potential consequences of making any more of this public than was strictly _necessary_... It could turn into some sick supernatural TV battle, muggles worldwide tuning in... Would Kira start killing people on TV that disagreed with him? Or would he kill those that supported L...? It wasn't necessarily the same thing... Either way, Harry felt a sinking feeling in his gut that told him that by the end of this, either magic would be exposed to the muggles, or worldwide levels of religion would increase to the point where the muggles picked up their abandoned pitchforks and flaming torches, and started chasing down evil spirits again. He knew the flame freezing spell, but that wasn't the point...

"I like it!" called out Ukita, startling Harry out of his thoughts. What had he missed?

"Yeah, make him think 1,500 are after him, when actually it's only eight... and unlike the FBI, they won't exist, so he can't kill them!"

Harry mentally thanked Aizawa. The Chief approved, and said he would notify the Director General, whilst Matsuda and Ukita talked about the idea.

"Do you mind if I share my thoughts on this case with you?" L asked, silencing everyone instantly. Everyone knew that it wasn't really a request; after all, it's why the NPA officers were there in the first place... Sure enough, nobody replied, and L began to speak.

"Kira is one person, acting alone. He had access to Task Force information."

"But what's your basis for deciding he's acting alone?" Aizawa interrupted, before he was silenced by the Chief, and told to let 'Ryuuzaki' finish speaking.

"He needs knowledge of his victim's name and face to commit murder, and he can control the time of death, as well as the victim's actions before death, to a certain extent. Now please keep those points in mind and listen carefully..."

L picked up a marker pen in his usual odd manner, and pulled the top off with a _pop_. Harry stared in slight disbelief and then amusement as L started writing... on the coffee table itself. The pen made a squeaking noise that seemed to be annoying Ukita to the point of twitching already. Harry could tell that the others were trying their best to ignore it. Harry of course, had heard much worse – earlier that day in fact – and so didn't bat an eye, and just watched the other officers, trying not to let his own amusement show. A squeaky pen didn't hold a candle to a severely irritated Acromantula or four. Speaking of which, Harry still couldn't believe that the whole mess could be fixed with _deer_ of all things... Perhaps it was a delicacy to them? It was rather... anti-climatic... but then what _wasn't_ these days...? Except Kira, of course...

"December 14th, Twelve FBI agents enter Japan... December 19th," _squeak_, "Kira uses prison inmates to carry out what are clearly tests of his ability to control victim's actions before they die. At some point in that five day period, Kira felt threatened and then used the criminals to test how far he could control his victim's actions." Ukita twitched noticeably as L wrote 'TESTS' under the date for the 19th.

"December 27th," L carried on, still squeaking, "With the results, he gets all twelve agents to receive a file with their names and photographs, and succeeds in killing them all. This means that he felt the need to conceal from us the agents file that he had seen, so we can assume that he had fairly close contact with one of the agents."

L seemed to gain more life as he spoke, and Harry listened to L further explain his theories on the criminals that were used during the five day period, how they were different... Harry's eyes widened, and he had to curse inwardly as he realised that it would be rude to interrupt, and he didn't even have a pen, so his mind raced to think of a way to get his idea on paper without... hm. Harry stuck his hand in his pocket, and conjured a small square of parchment, taking care not to crinkle it in the slightest. Outwardly there was no sign, other than a slight narrowing of the eyes, but since everyone else was concentrating too, it wasn't noticeable.

"...The eight day gap between the tests and the murders was to give the FBI agents time to probe others, so as to draw suspicion away..." L continued, and Harry silently apologised, tuning L out as he concentrated on the words that he needed to appear on the parchment. It was always harder to make something that you couldn't see. It would probably end up looking like a five year old wrote it. Hopefully it would remind him anyway...

"The FBI has sent me computer records showing the order in which the agents received the file. I have those here, as well as other data, but they cannot leave this room."

The NPA quickly divided tasks between them, and Harry absently listened, wondering whether or not now was a good idea to speak up, but before he could, the Chief asked L a question that caught his attention.

"Earlier you said you hate losing. By showing your face to us, aren't you admitting that you've lost?"

Harry wondered at that, it wasn't like L was dead or anything, but he could see how it would technically be a loss.

"Yes, showing myself, and the deaths of those FBI agents means... I lost. But... I'll win in the end. Like yourselves, this is the first time I've staked my life on a contest," Harry wishes it was true in his case, but sadly not. "Let's show him, those of us who are risking their lives... That the good guys always win," L said, with possibly the creepiest grin that Harry had ever seen on a person. Voldemort didn't count, since he was more evil and ugly than creepy, and he wasn't much of a person to start with. To Harry at least, anyway... he wasn't sure if many would agree with him about Voldemort not being creepy. Still though, L had one heck of a creepy smile, and Harry was glad it wasn't him that L had in mind at the time he chose to display it. It was then that Harry noticed that L was gripping his knees tighter than usual, making his fingers look even more pale and skeletal than usual.

The other officers except the Chief and Harry jumped up and agreed enthusiastically, almost as if they were going to run off and start chasing down evidence in that very instant. Of course, after L had successfully motivated the four men, he had to go and ruin it. He stepped off his chair and shuffled away slightly before looking back at everyone.

"Great," he intoned flatly, "So first, to be sure that none of you are Kira, I'd like to speak to each of you alone."

_What was it that Hermione said back in...? Oh, what was it? Third year? Oh yes, something about Ron having the emotional range of a teaspoon. So it is decided... L has the emotional range of a teaspoon. How in Merlin's name can someone so... _stony_, play people like fiddles? _

L shuffled over to a large window that overlooked Tokyo, and seemed lost in thought, watching snow swirling lazily as it settled on rooftops and streets. He needed something solid, something concrete that would show who Kira was... _Just one clue_... The witnesses from the bus certainly described exactly what he had suspected, but then again, there was no proof, just circumstantial evidence even if it could be proved that his main suspect was in fact on that bus... If Harry hadn't pointed out that bus incident though, he doubted that he would have made the connection between the phone call Penber had made and him receiving the file so quickly afterwards. With the frequent reminders of Beyond Birthday, and the murder case where Naomi Misora had worked with L to apprehend the red-eyed, serial killing look-a-like, he'd remembered that the last he had heard, she was engaged to be married to Penber, and was planning to stop working for the FBI. He remembered, because it had seemed odd that Misora would work so hard to get where she was in her career, just to give it up. He'd noted that Penber was also an FBI agent, but hadn't actually remembered his connection to Naomi until after the man had died, and he'd been reminded by Harry...

L stared blankly out into the snow, and knew that out there somewhere in the city, Kira was lurking, planning his next move. What Kira didn't know however, was that L had a Wizard on his side. Irritating he may be, but still, L could think of worse scenarios. At least Harry wasn't an idiot.

Just one solid piece of evidence!

_Just one clue_...

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

Across the city, Light Yagami was awake later than usual, staring tiredly at a completely innocent notebook filled with dates and random words... 'Tests'... 'Bus'...

It was exhausting. Not only did he have normal school, he also had study groups that he attended, and he still needed to keep his perfect grades, otherwise that would cause suspicion. Then he also had to eat, sleep, and act normally, only passing judgement in the small amount of time he could find late at night.

It would all be worth it in the end, though. He, Light Yagami, had the power to rid this rotten world of the criminals that roamed the streets. He alone could create a utopia for those who deserved it... he had the power, and he would use it to make the world safe. Criminals everywhere would shake in terror at the mention of Kira. He was the number one student in Japan, who better to have this power? It could almost be fate...

Tonight, he was more tired than usual, having stayed up into the small hours of the morning, thinking about everything he had done in the last few days.

"If I left even just one clue to my identity, I'm finished," he explained to Ryuk, focussing on the word 'Bus', which had been circled a few times. Ryuk had asked if he was studying for the entrance exam to To-Oh... Like he actually needed to study for them...

Light stared down at the page. All it would take was...

_Just one clue... _

**A/N:** Another one out! Hopefully those of you who have never read Death Note, or seen the anime, or the live action films, will now understand a bit more of what's going on.

Thank you very much to the anonymous reviewers that I couldn't thank personally, and welcome to those of you who recently discovered my story! It's going to be a funky ride. I think.

Let me know what you think!

Next Chapter: The Task Force and Harry have a chat, L and Harry find out a bit more about each other, Watari rebels against the L, and we learn a bit more about Harry's magic. Plus... more ;-)

**Q 4 U:** What did Harry 'write' on the note in his pocket? I'm wondering if anyone will guess it!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Death Note is in no way, shape or form mine, same with Harry Potter. Never has been, never will be! I'm just twisting it to fit my own crazy ends. No animals were harmed in the writing of this chapter, although a carton of Ribena was sacrificed along with some random junk food. Anything that you recognise is most definitely not mine.

Enjoy! (I hope!)

**Chapter 15**

Mogi was the last one to be 'interviewed' by L, and the rest of the team were sifting through various piles of paperwork, chatting quietly as they waited.

"Is Kinjo Ryuuki your real name?" asked Matsuda curiously.

"It's what you can call me... Isn't that the definition of a name?" Harry replied, smiling slightly.

"Well, yes, I suppose..."

"Of course it's an alias, Matsuda!" said Aizawa. Harry just grinned.

"Well, yeah, I suppose it's kind of obvious now that I think about it..." said Matsuda sheepishly, scratching his head.

Aizawa rolled his eyes.

"I'd like to point out that I never got the Finger Gun of Doom from Ryuuzaki though, so I must have done something right," said Harry, absently thumbing through some files of criminals that were killed during Kira's 'experiments'.

Matsuda chuckled, and the corner of Aizawa's lip twitched.

"So what really happened to you anyway?" Matsuda asked, "You just disappeared!"

Harry paused and thought carefully of what to say.

"Basically, I got free room and board so I can't complain too much I suppose. The food isn't bad either."

"Free room and board...?" repeated Matsuda, his expression one of confusion.

"I was escorted to a nice little grey room."

Both officers paused, and even Ukita stopped what he was doing a few seats away. The Chief glanced up before refocusing on the file he had been reading.

"Seriously?" asked Aizawa.

"Why would I lie? I can't blame him really since my file is full of mysterious holes. It was a logical move on his part to lock me up for a bit, and I suppose I would have been surprised if he hadn't, now that I think about it. Disappointed too, I suppose. At least now I can be sure that he will act on any suspicions he has in a decent and timely manner, and the fact that I was released as soon as his suspicions of me reached zero..."

Harry trailed off as he noticed everyone in the room staring at him strangely.

"Well?" said Aizawa impatiently.

"Well," Harry started carefully, "It tells me that no matter who we might suspect, whether or not they are guilty of being Kira..." he said carefully, thinking of Sirius, "They will be treated fairly. It reaffirms that I'm in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing. If L suspects someone of mass murder, he sticks them in a plain little room, asks what they want to eat, and sets about trying to find the _truth_. If Kira was to suspect someone of mass murder, I doubt they would get the same consideration, or if he would even think twice before killing them. However he's doing it, it obviously doesn't take long with how many have been killed, plus the broadcast from a few weeks ago proved that whatever it is, it works fast; definitely not long enough to look into those criminals before he kills them. He killed twelve _innocent_ people in one day, so I doubt he'd spare a thought for the criminals. I do pity Kira though."

"You pity a _murderer?_" exclaimed Ukita.

"Well, yes. It's hard not to. He's young and scared."

"Scared?" Aizawa asked.

"So what, he's killing criminals out of fear? That makes no sense!" Ukita said in annoyance.

"Well of course it doesn't Ukita-san, because he's not killing the _criminals_ out of fear. He's killing the _innocent_ people out of fear. I know it seems odd, but it's like he's so afraid of dying that he'll go to any lengths to save himself, including sacrificing innocent lives. There's a whole bunch of mental issues right there. He's afraid of death, and there is something that confirms it, at least to me anyway. These experiments..." Harry said quietly, shuffling the files in his hands.

Unnoticed, L and Mogi had re-entered the room just before Ukita's exclamation about Ryuuki pitying a murderer, and L had motioned for Mogi to be silent so as not to interrupt what was likely to be an interesting conversation. It was likely that either Harry himself or Ukita would notice them soon, since they were turned more in their direction; although Harry had his nose in a file, and Ukita was staring at Harry. After a moment Harry raised his head and spotted them, as if sensing their presence.

"Ah, hello again..." Harry said, waving.

"Please continue with what you were saying, Ryuuki," L requested, although everyone present heard the demand for what it was.

"Well, look at the experiments... You yourselves would probably notice this soon anyway, but I've had access to this for a bit longer, and two things went through my mind."

Harry spread out the 'experiment' files on what little space was left on the coffee table.

"Obviously, he has the ability to control people before their deaths – and in pretty gory detail as well. He could potentially make these people repeatedly run into walls until they died, or he could make them break their own bones, bite themselves, you get the idea." Harry winced when he saw the sickened expressions crossing the other officers faces, all except L, who was as blank as ever, nibbling his thumb as he slouched over to the table glancing at the files as if to remind himself, not that Harry thought that he really needed to.

"You are saying that there is a possibility that if Kira wanted to, he could have people torture themselves prior to their deaths, and yet instead he is simply ending their existence." L said around his thumb, and the other officers started picking up the files, nodding to themselves.

"Exactly Ryuuzaki. He must feel strongly about what he is doing, to kill so many, so why not choose the 'worst' death? If he was _choosing_ a heart attack as the most 'humane punishment' then how would a person who thought like that be able to murder those agents? It suggests to me that Kira sees death _itself_ as the worst punishment. _This_ is why I pity Kira. He's another one who thinks that physical death is the worst thing that could possibly happen to a person, and yet he probably hasn't noticed that he's probably dying a slow and twisted death in his mind," finished Harry, pointing to his own head. "Don't tell Kira though, I don't think he would like to be pitied," Harry joked, trying to lighten the tension. "I could be wrong of course; he might just simply want them gone, or someone might be forcing his hand somehow, and I could be jumping to conclusions."

It seemed that those lessons that Dumbledore had given him in his sixth year could be paying off. Maybe those lessons were not just for the current situation back then, like he'd thought. Dumbledore could be devious like that. Truthfully he'd seen little sense at the time, but now he was finding himself contemplating a lot of what had been said between them about Tom Riddle's descent into darkness, before the old man had died. A part of Harry wondered if he was seeing only what he'd been 'trained' to see, and that was why he was seeing so many similarities between Voldemort and Kira. Another part wondered if all so-called 'Dark Lords' really did follow the same pattern. It was something to ponder.

"What was the second thing that you thought of?" L asked curiously, his head tilted and his thumb resting on his bottom lip, as if prepared to commence nibbling at a moment's notice. The other officers roused themselves from their thoughts, and surprisingly Harry found himself being stared at attentively by everyone in the room. It was something that he'd reluctantly gotten used to over the years, but it was disconcerting from these muggle officers that he barely knew.

"That first thought also assumes that Kira can kill in ways other than a heart attack of course, especially taking that bus-jacking into account. The second thought I had that I want to explore is also based on a couple of assumptions I suppose, but still, it's annoying me. Fact: Kira used these criminals as test subjects, as experiments," Harry said, gesturing towards the files that were spread in front of him. "In... science, experiments generally either succeed, or they fail. We're looking at the successes, but there's got to be something that failed. Even just one, no matter how smart Kira is, because isn't it human nature to push limits, and to test boundaries? It's only human nature to try something that you know will not work, or that you suspect will not work, just to be absolutely _sure_ that it doesn't work. To make sure that the limit is there – perhaps even attempt to get around whatever limits there are in some way – and if he was testing limits, then something _had_ to fail. So where are Kira's failed experiments?" Harry said, thinking of the note in his pocket that simply said, 'Which one's failed?', or at least, that's what it was meant to say. Harry hadn't had the chance to check yet.

The Chief leaned forward in his seat, his expression one of deep thought. However, it was L who spoke.

"I too had this same query, but if Kira's weapon simply did not work on a certain criminal, it would be difficult to determine what had failed and when, since we do not know the effects of failure. Perhaps if an unorthodox method of murder were to fail, the criminal would live until Kira found out about the failed experiment, and then Kira would simply kill with a heart attack, making that person just another victim," L mused, biting his thumb.

"Then we'd never know the difference..." said Matsuda disappointedly.

"Or maybe there are criminals who are injured, but not dead. Does this weapon only kill?" Harry mused absently.

"Kinjo-san – that would be impossible! There's no such technology-" Aizawa sputtered.

"Oh _yes_, because weapons needing only a name and a face to effectively kill someone _anywhere_ on our _planet_ at designated _times_ are so common these days!" Harry said sarcastically before sighing and rubbing his eyes. "I'm sorry for the heavy sarcasm there Aizawa-san, but this is not _normal_. This isn't going to be like _anything_ you've ever known."

Everyone sat and thought over what had been said.

"You will all be pleased to know," L said, gathering everyone's attention, "That I have determined that Kira is not among us."

"Ryuuzaki... What makes you so sure of this?" asked the Chief.

"Well, I had prepared a test to see if any of you were Kira, but I didn't feel the need to use it on any of you." L replied, once more settled in his usual crouch on the armchair he'd been perched on before. Nobody had even thought of sitting in his seat when he had been absent.

The officers stared blankly at L, not sure what to make of his last statement. Before anyone had a chance to comment, a loud '_beep beep beep' _was heard from... L's pocket. Matsuda didn't look best pleased at L breaking his own rule.

"Excuse me," L stated before answering the phone. Everyone stared at L as he held the phone awkwardly, dangling it beside his ear between his forefinger and thumb as if it was contaminated.

"...Fine. We have also just finished. Use your own key to let yourself in," L said into the phone, before ending the call and turning his head slightly towards the others, not looking at anyone in particular.

"Watari is here."

The officers – except Harry – gasped in unison, and Harry was tempted to laugh. It wasn't much of a surprise to him after all, having seen Watari many times over the past few days that he'd been here. It was amusing to see the other's reactions though.

Not a minute later, the door to the suite clicked, and Watari walked in, without the scarf and trenchcoat.

"Good morning, gentlemen."

Everyone except L and Harry stared in astonishment, and Watari answered the question that was on their minds.

"Coming here dressed in _that_ getup would be like holding a giant sign saying 'I'm Watari!' People would guess right away that Ryuuzaki is staying in this hotel. The fact that I can show my face to you like this is proof that Ryuuzaki trusts you."

The other officers had recovered from their shock by this point, and were hesitantly nodding their heads in agreement. Watari turned to L.

"I have brought what you requested, Ryuuzaki."

"Could you hand them out then?" L replied. Still no manners, Harry noted; but at least it actually sounded like a request rather than a demand. Watari opened a shiny silver case.

"These are your new ID's," Watari stated, tilting the case so that the officers could see. There were only five ID's, since Harry had already come prepared.

"New ID's?" exclaimed Aizawa, shocked. The other's all wore similar expressions. Harry had to seriously fight the urge to roll his eyes. Dishonest though it was, it was necessary for their own protection.

"The name and rank are bogus..." observed the Chief, after opening his badge to reveal the name 'Captain - Shijuro Asahi'.

"Fake ID's!" Matsuda exclaimed.

"Kira needs both a name and a face to kill, so why make it easy for him? This is an obvious step to take," L commented, sipping his tea.

"Yes, I know, but cops using fake ID's?" muttered Ukita unsurely.

"No... If Kira needs a name and face, then these could save our lives," said the Chief. "We should use these instead of our own ID's"

Matsuda and Aizawa agreed. L gave instructions not to use the fake ID's inside the NPA so as to prevent awkward questions, while Watari brought out a slightly larger case.

"Oh, and please wear these belts at all times," said Watari, raising a brow when the officers gave him questioning glances. "There is a transmitter in the buckle that will tell Ryuuzaki where you are, and if you push the buckle twice, my cell phone will ring," Watari explained, pushing the belt buckle twice in demonstration, causing a '_beep beep beep'_ noise to come from the phone in his hand. "I will then call you back right away. Every morning when you check in at the NPA, use this method to contact me and I will tell you Ryuuzaki's hotel and room number. These should also be used in emergencies."

Even Harry got a belt, and he resisted the urge to push the buckle. Looking at it, you'd never know what was actually hidden in there, and Harry had to admit that he was impressed. Whoever made these definitely knew what they were doing. When Harry looked up, he noticed that Matsuda already had his belt on and was grinning down at it. Harry couldn't help but smile slightly too. He looked like a kid with a new toy.

"Wow! It's like we're top secret agents going after Kira!" Matsuda exclaimed, grinning.

"Matsuda! Don't be silly, we're not fooling around here!" the Chief snapped.

"...Yes sir," replied a rather subdued Matsuda.

Harry looked around and noticed that the officers all looked rather tired, having stayed up all night looking through information and being interviewed. Harry wasn't worried about getting tired, since he had potions for that sort of thing; though he'd have to be careful not to let supplies get too low, otherwise no doubt Kreacher would take Hermione's and she'd shout at him down the phone again.

After one last instruction to the officers to make sure to always have someone at the NPA building, L told them to go and get some rest. After everyone had said goodbye and collected their cell phones, it was just the three of them again.

"Why was I unable to take a note of your license plate yesterday?" L asked after they had both poured themselves a cup of tea. Harry dreaded to think how many sugar cubes L had demolished that night already. Actually, there was barely a time when L hadn't been eating something sugary. Harry shook himself from his thoughts and realised that L was talking about Morpheus.

"Aha... ha... It comes in handy."

L looked at him sharply.

"Well, I'm less likely to get banned from driving again if they're not showing..." Harry admitted sheepishly. "In all of my previous cars, the speedometer tended to show whatever speed I _wanted_ it to show, instead of the actual speed I was doing at the time..."

"You are banned from driving?" The stare intensified.

"Not in Japan! Plus, I have papers stating that Kinjo Ryuuki is an excellent driver!" Harry stated with only a hint of smugness.

"So which country is it?"

Harry shifted awkwardly and fought a slight grin, which did not go unnoticed.

"How many?" L demanded.

Harry winced and held up four fingers. "Although if you count each individual state in America, it's two more."

L made an odd sound in the back of his throat before tilting his head slightly, contemplating.

"I win," L stated simply.

"What do you mean 'you win'? No way... How many are you banned from then?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"That depends on who you ask. If you're asking me, then that information is classified."

Harry scowled, before brightening.

"In that case, I'm not asking you. TEAM WATARI! Same question, for ten points!"

Watari chuckled. "If it were up to me, I'd say he's banned from ever getting behind the wheel of any road vehicle ever again after what he did to-"

"Enough, Watari!"

"-That poor Ford Cosworth, what on Earth it ever did-"

"Watari!"

"-to warrant him driving it into a-"

"I told you, the brake cable suddenly snapped and I had no choice other than to remove myself from the car or risk a rather traumatic and fiery death!"

"-disused quarry before sending it off the edge into the pit, I'll never know; although I was told that there was a rather impressive explosion. It could be seen from a few miles away, apparently. The strange thing was that Ryuuzaki had been working on a case-"

"Watari, that's classified!"

"-Where a car had been disposed of in a rather similar manner, and he suspected that vital evidence had been lost in the resulting explosion-"

"This is entirely unnecessary, Watari."

"-perhaps helped along by some flammable chemicals, but of course he had no way of testing it for himself – which of course, he insisted was absolutely vital – especially since he was only twelve at the time-"

"Still classified, Watari."

"-and it pains me to say that I'm still not sure where he learned to steal a car, or where he found those chemicals. All I can say is at least he stole _my_ Cosworth, and not someone else's, or it would have been rather more difficult to keep him out of trouble. As it was, I had a terrible time explaining away the numerous pieces of charred butcher's meat that were scattered in every direction by the blast."

"It wouldn't have passed its next M.O.T. anyway," L muttered sullenly when Watari had finished speaking, sulking at his handler's refusal to co-operate with his wishes, "and it was a terrible colour."

Harry stared at L incredulously for a moment before bursting into laugher.

"That's classic! Absolutely classic! Brilliant! That's got to be on par with the flying car incident, minus the fireball. Hang on... you were _solving_ actual _cases_ when you were _twelve_?"

"That was supposed to be classified," L muttered, clearly still annoyed at Watari.

"Yes, well you'd like to have your whole life classified, wouldn't you? A nice big security blanket for you to hide behind for the rest of your life, even as you take away other people's security blankets and delve into their dirty little secrets," Harry said, crossing his arms.

"That is the whole point. I am a detective."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that."

"...With what, exactly?"

"Living in isolation. Solitude. Whatever label you'd put on it. Especially after all this. Like it or not, you've got people around you now, and you'll miss it in some way when this is over and done with, and they're all gone."

"I doubt that very much."

Harry stared at L for a moment.

"If it's any consolation, I believe that if anyone could do it, you could. I'm still betting that it wouldn't be as easy as you think. Oh, and I know I actually ended up saying quite a bit back there, but you were busy anyway, and I couldn't exactly ignore them."

"It is fine. Thank you for showing restraint," L replied, dismissing the first half of Harry's statement.

"Ah, so you noticed."

Both were silent, L reaching behind his chair for a handful of sweets as Harry stared at a random piece of dirt on the floor, probably from someone's shoe.

"You mentioned something previously, about investigating... traces... in the subway, and about it being too late. Could you perhaps explain this to me in greater detail?" L asked carefully, before bringing some sort of sweet to his mouth, and chewing it slowly.

"Well, I suppose so," Harry replied, nodding. "My first plan involved going to the subway, but I got rather involved in all those newspapers. I suppose I scrapped that plan, to be honest. I doubt that it would have been of much use, anyway."

"Why not? What would you have been tracing?"

Harry shifted round slightly in his seat, and went to put his teacup down on the table, quickly diverting to the saucer at the last second having sensed L's glare.

"I'll try and explain as fully as I can... Basically, everyone leaves a trace. Muggles leave a faint trace, and magical beings leave a stronger trace. If Kira was a Wizard, I might have been able to still catch a faint trace. It was in an area of heavy foot traffic so that complicates things a bit. For someone skilled enough though, it's still possible to separate muggle from Wizard, especially if magic has been used, or there's a situation of great emotional stress... and so I might have been able to well... follow him. I figured that was a long shot though, since it's unlikely that Kira is magical. No criminals in the magical world have died of heart attacks, and our criminals have done some pretty terrible things. Magic is definitely not all roses and sunshine."

"I would have to agree that Kira does not appear to be magical."

"Therefore, Kira is a muggle who has gotten their scheming little paws on a rather powerful artefact of some unknown origin, and who has decided that they are judge, jury and executioner, all rolled into one shiny Dark Lord shaped package," Harry said, his hands moving as if placing invisible objects into an equally invisible box, finishing off by tying an invisible bow.

"...The term 'Kira' fits well enough," L replied after a moment, contemplating the order in which he would consume his latest batch of junk food.

"Kira is steadily ticking all the Dark Lord boxes though. He wants to systematically kill off a group of people whom he has deemed as 'unworthy' of life for starters. I think that should get at least two ticked boxes all on its own. The fact that it's criminals... Maybe there was some good intention in there to begin with, and that's how he justifies it to himself. Maybe if he stopped now, it would mean that all of the deaths so far were for nothing... He definitely crossed a line on that broadcast, as if he plans to take over. That ticks another box. That leads me on to him killing people in public rather than sticking to the prisons. Throwing this power around like some sort of sick toy, not caring whether or not there were children present in that subway, maybe even wanting to show people what he's capable of... that someone's out there killing off the 'bad guys'... that would tick another box if that was the case..."

L stayed silent, for once not eating or drinking anything at all as he listened to how Harry was reaching roughly the same conclusions he'd come to himself, but through using a completely different thought process to his own. Harry thought in a completely different way, and yet he was intuitively and objectively dissecting Kira's actions, pulling them apart and reaching the correct conclusions. It was actually refreshing to hear, and it helped to strengthen his own conclusions on the matter; not that he doubted himself in the slightest, but it was... confirmation, of a sort.

"I suppose that would then lead on to some sort of god-complex, or a desire to lord it over us common folk; in fact that would make sense, and it would tick another box. Then there's the problem that comes with a god-complex, and that is followers. Is Kira the sharing sort, though? What do you think, L?"

"I very much doubt it at this point in time. It would be too much of a risk, especially at this stage. Although I admit that Kira is clever, and not to be underestimated."

"So I suppose the main question is, how many ticked boxes do you need to be classed as a Dark Lord?"

"It is irrelevant. Either way, Kira must be stopped," L replied dismissively. "Is it possible to trace magical artefacts in a similar manner?"

"It depends on the artefact in question. Some artefacts work by proximity, and those are the easiest to pinpoint in a search, because they give off a certain type of magic. It's already been proven that distance is no problem, so that kind of rules that out. Other artefacts that I have come across have acted like switches, or triggers. They remain dormant until the user does something. If the artefact is in front of me I can tell if there's something there, but otherwise they could be anything. Joke parchments that soak up the ink after ten minutes... touching a jinxed doorknob and having it bite your hand... teacups that tip your drink out every time you say the trigger word...things like that. It depends on the type of artefact, the trigger required for the artefact to work, and then the actual magic itself. I doubt that it lingers once it's done its job, so it would be nearly impossible to trace back, even from a very recent victim."

"Ah. So it could be anything."

"Well, at least you know to look out for absolutely anything now," Harry said with amusement, grinning slightly. "By the way, we'll have to leave fairly soon to get there by nine."

L paused for a moment before replying. "Actually, I should probably stay here and look through some more data."

Harry folded his arms and glared.

"No deal! It's not like you are actually losing any investigation time, and this will do you some good!" L opened his mouth to speak but Harry cut him off. "No, listen! If something ever happens to me, you and Watari still need a contact in the magical world, and the Weasley's really are decent people! Who better than someone from the Minister's family? Plus if you don't come, I won't bring back any apple pies, or cakes, or cookies at all, and you've tasted Molly's cooking, so you know what you'd be missing."

"That seems unnecessarily cruel."

"Yeah, well... You'd have that cloak back, obviously. Footwear is no longer a problem. I should probably mention that you would also get to meet my godson, which reminds me... I'll need to disappear for the odd weekend to spend time with him, especially if this drags on for more than a few weeks."

L hummed in interest.

"Come on! Free food, an unknown society to puzzle out, new things to see, and unfortunately I have to put on dress robes, which you'll probably find amusing. You won't want to miss the show either."

The door to the suite opened and Watari stood in the doorway looking rather flustered.

"Ryuuzaki..."

"Watari..?" L murmured, turning to face him fully. Watari opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking.

"Gentlemen, you have been requested by, well, _yourselves_, to hurry up and leave so that they can come back in. I must ask; how often is this going to be happening? Am I to expect you both to just appear and disappear randomly?" Watari asked, looking between the outer hallway and where they were currently sitting with a rather confused expression. He brought out his handkerchief and mopped his brow, muttering something about there being 'two of each' and 'not enough sweets'.

"Of course not Watari! We'd find some way to let you know first. Truthfully, it shouldn't have overlapped... Sorry about that, it won't happen again." Harry said apologetically, frowning slightly. He then turned to L and wandlessly summoned the man's new boots. "Looks like you're coming after all!" He then stated, grinning.

L was tempted to rub his forehead, but instead pulled the boots on carefully, alert to any unauthorised shrinking. Thankfully the boots stayed the same size.

"I can't believe I'm letting you talk me into this..." L said around his thumb.

"I can't believe you are still awake. Don't you ever sleep? I have potions that will help if you're feeling tired?" Harry offered.

L's mind took him back to the recipe he had previously looked at and his stomach turned at the thought of actually _ingesting_ a similar concoction. He felt less tired already.

"I would rather not, if it's all the same."

"Alright then. Are you ready? Since we came straight back here, we'll stop by my apartment first."

L sighed before nodding and mentally preparing himself for the most unpleasant sensation that was side-along apparition. He managed a quick nod of farewell in Watari's direction before Harry spun them both round, and he just managed to catch sight of Watari's answering nod before the world spun, and he slammed his eyes closed.

By the time L had recovered, Harry had already set up his wardrobe, and was holding L's cloak from earlier that same day.

"Here, you put this on, and I'll get changed in the wardrobe."

L put the cloak on, and was both surprised and annoyed at himself when he realised that he felt almost forty-two percent safer. With a glance at the closed wardrobe door, L decided to have a look around Harry's apartment unhindered while he still had the chance.

There wasn't really anything worth noting in the lounge area, and most of the storage cupboards were empty. No DVD's, books or magazines at all. He quickly stopped looking in the living room and instead made his way to the kitchen.

All L found in the kitchen was numerous packets of instant noodles, a box of teabags, a carton of sour milk, a sink full of dirty dishes and many cupboards full of what looked to be brand new kitchenware, not a single scratch on any of it. The bin held a few empty noodle packets, and a crushed up cheesecake box. On the window ledge was a jar containing strange looking coloured biscuits.

That's when he noticed the pure white raven sitting eerily still on the outside window ledge, staring intently at him. He slowly shuffled closer to the window, expecting it to fly away, but it just sat and stared. Looking closer, he saw that something was attached to one of its legs; a little brown parcel tied with string.

_What do I do?_

L glanced over his shoulder at the wardrobe, which was still closed. No doubt the raven could deliver things, much like the dove that he'd seen before. Therefore, the most logical conclusion would be to open the window, and let the raven come inside with its package.

Having made a decision, L slowly walked to the window, and opened it wide. The raven calmly hopped inside, before spreading its wings and gliding over to a dining chair, perching on the wooden back. L stared after it for a moment before shutting the window. He carefully edged out of the room – the white raven staring at him the whole time – and knocked on the closed wardrobe.

Just under a minute later the door opened, and Harry stuck his head out, his face his own once again.

"The bathroom is over there," Harry pointed to a closed door. "I'll only be a minute, I lost my cloak pin."

"It's not that; there is a white raven perched on a chair in the kitchen, presumably waiting for you," L replied, pointing through the kitchen doorway.

"Oh, right! Thanks for letting him in," Harry said, before calling out, "Is that you, Poe?" rather loudly.

"_Nevermore!"_ answered the white raven known as Poe, making L twitch in surprise. Harry just laughed.

"Stay there and I'll sort you out in a minute. No tricks!"

"_No tricks!"_

"He understands you?" asked L, shocked.

"Of course, he is magical after all. He only says a few words though, and only when it's me. Hang on; I need to find my pin," Harry said, ducking back into the wardrobe. L saw a flash of something green.

"Isn't there a spell for that sort of thing?" L enquired before Harry could close the door, which swiftly opened again.

"Yes, but then I wouldn't have an excuse to stay in this wardrobe," Harry stated plainly, only his head visible.

"It can't be that bad."

"Yes it can. Formal robes are a nuisance. You're lucky; you get the plain Unspeakable robe. I'm stuck in formal gear, and you'll laugh since you're a muggle! I would have been laughing hysterically the first time I saw someone in robes if it's wasn't for me realising that I'd be stuck in them too! Actually, it's rather weird, since in the wizarding world, people get made fun of for wearing muggle clothes."

L gave Harry a pointed look before pulling the hood of his own cloak up, hiding his face.

"Yeah, _great_ idea. Putting the hood up so that I can't see you smirking at me by any chance?"

"Perhaps."

"I suppose I'm being silly," Harry muttered before stepping out of the wardrobe. "You'll be seeing worse robes than these soon enough."

L smirked.

"Are you wear-" L started before being interrupted.

"_Yes_, there are trousers! I can practically _hear_ you smirking in there you know!"

"If I'm going to be stuck at a party with you, there's got to be something in it for me."

"Oh, so that's how it is? You're lucky that cloak is spell resistant, otherwise you'd look like a prostitute right now."

Underneath the hood, L went pale.

"I never want you to change my clothes. It is vitally important that I wear those exact clothes," L stated almost immediately.

"Long sleeved top and jeans?"

"Yes."

"Can I at least mess about with the colours sometimes?"

"No."

"Not even if you _really_ annoy me?"

"No."

"Why?"

"The reason why is not important."

"That's not what you just said! You just said not a minute ago that it was vitally important that you wear those exact clothes!" Harry exclaimed triumphantly.

"It is."

"Is it vitally important to _you_, or vitally important for some other reason?"

L paused, sensing the trap.

"You are rather skilled at manipulation yourself, Harry."

Harry simply nodded before walking towards the kitchen, where Poe was waiting quietly.

"Well done, Poe. I'll get you some food and water after I take this off, and then you can rest here for a while. How's Spooky doing?"

Poe flapped his wings and puffed out his feathers, before letting out a soft 'caw'.

"Fair enough, spring is just round the corner, after all," Harry replied, untying the package. "Stupid knots... George's idea of a joke, no doubt."

Harry growled slightly before flicking his finger at the small package, making it grow bigger and bigger, until it resembled a large shoebox wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. He then narrowed his eyes and proceeded to tap the knots with his finger, smirking victoriously when the string untied itself. He then waved a hand, making a perch appear, complete with food and water bowls. After that, he summoned the jar from the kitchen window ledge, and filled one of the bowls. He brought his wand out to fill the water bowl however, as he disliked the sensation of liquids seeping out of his hands.

L moved to stand near the parcel.

"It's probably just some papers for me to sign, along with copies of everything for me to look over," Harry said before bringing out one of his trunks and enlarging it. L watched as the parcel floated into the trunk, and a small black box floated out, before the trunk closed itself and once again shrunk to the size of a matchbox.

"Are you sure you will be alright for the next few hours? You must be exhausted!"

"I assure you, I will be fine."

"I don't know how you do it, unless it's all that sugar keeping you going."

L stayed silent and watched as Harry opened the box, realising that it wasn't actually a box, but a small drawer. Harry pulled and pulled, and the drawer kept getting longer and longer, until at last Harry stopped pulling when it reached four feet long. L saw many rows of labelled corks, some larger than others, and some that were different colours.

"Headache draught, a little energy boost, nutrition potion, and one to put in your pocket. If I pass out at the other end, make me drink it, although it's more likely that I'll pass out when we get back. The other three should be enough for now though, but keep a hold of it just in case," Harry said as he brought out four vials, handing L a shimmering blue potion with a red cork. The code 'AMESS-HJP' had been written on the cork on black ink, and L wondered what it meant.

"You inspire no confidence whatsoever," L replied, looking at the blue sparkles for a moment before putting the vial in his pocket.

"Well, it's not like we're about to take down some dark wizards, is it? So it would be a waste of a motivational speech."

"Hmmm."

Harry quickly drank the three potions, putting the empty vials in a drawer that he pulled out of the side of the box, whilst the other drawer was still open.

"Great, now my mouth tastes like dirty old socks..." Harry complained, wrinkling his face in disgust. "No problem, there's a spell for that I guess."

L himself had twisted his face in disgust at the thought, and he watched as Harry stuck his finger in his mouth, the lines on his face relaxing slightly.

"Much better," Harry stated, as he packed up the little black box, frowning when he realised that he'd already put his trunk away. "I have to figure something else out; this is getting ridiculous," Harry muttered to himself as he once again brought out his trunk. "If only I could remember where I put that mokeskin pouch..."

"What are those symbols on your robes?" L asked.

The robes were mainly black with green trim, a green neck tie of some description, and wide sleeves. There were strange symbols all around the edge of the sleeves, and around the bottom hem. There were two crests on Harry's chest, with Latin words underneath.

Harry pointed to his sleeves. "These are Ancient Runes," he said, "I suppose you could say they contain spells. Some are defensive, and some are just for comfort, like for warmth or for cooling. On a lot of formal robes, they make the runes visible. You've got similar runes on your cloak, but you can't see them. This," he continued, pointing to one of the crests, "Is the Potter family crest. All the fancy stuff around it means that I'm the current head of the family. The other one is the Black family crest, which I'm also the current head of, but I'll pass that on to Teddy if he wants it when he's older."

"Ah. That explains it."

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yes."

L was once again grabbed and spun round, and when he regained his senses, he found himself sitting on yet another dirt road. Harry was attempting to stand up, and doing a terrible job of it, wheezing slightly and groaning as he held his head in one hand, attempting to keep his balance with the other.

"Give me a minute..." Harry mumbled groggily.

"What is wrong?" L said thickly. His tongue was tingling.

"Headache," Harry stated, taking a moment to rub his temples. "You have no magic, so it's almost like dragging two or three people with me. Potion will kick in soon, but the ringing is still pretty bad... With a magical passenger, I guide their magic and give them a bit of a boost for the long distances, so there's very little backlash, and I'm not losing much at all unless they're knocked out; but even then their magic instinctively helps me along. With you, it's like having to give you a chunk of my magic for a little while as I drag you along, then I lose a chunk of my magic since you need quite a bit more than a boost; then the magic I gave to you to borrow comes back rather violently and tries to figure out where to go. Then it gets pulled two different ways, and there's a fight to see where it ends up. Other magical folk don't have that fighting issue, but since I had a parasite leeching from me for sixteen years, part of my magical core is tainted, or warped. They think it will take almost a decade before it all integrates properly, but until then I have to just deal with it and keep taking that potion in your pocket."

"What does it do?"

"Full of questions, aren't you? I'm not sure how to explain it, really. It's almost like... a common ground. For two weeks after my dose, everything is fine. Then spells tend to have a mind of their own. When it got really bad, I used to just go to Hogwarts for a few days and help with the rebuilding, and being there would help to drain the excess. Now I have a focus stone, which is almost saturated, which is _sort of_ why that ash tree tried to dump a branch on my head. We should start walking; it's about ten minutes away from here," Harry said as he started walking up the path. "I suppose it helps to keep things stable; or maybe calm is a better word," he added, referring to the potion.

L nodded absently, trying to understand everything at once.

"How would the tree know?"

"Well, in the old days, a couple of thousand years ago, everyone made their own magical focus; what we would now call a staff. Magic was a lot harder to control without the wands we have now, but people found that when they held a certain stone, they found it easy and natural to push magic into it, and continued doing so until the stone wouldn't take any more. Normally this can take up to ten or even fifteen years, depending on the size of the stone. By that time they were considered old enough to handle a staff. Usually after the stone is saturated, the person then gives off some sort of 'static' I suppose you could call it; the trees pick up on this, and they drop their branches to people who would be suited to that particular tree. This was before wand cores were discovered, of course. I've been clobbered by so many trees that I've lost count! I've even had a skull fracture from an elm tree! I can almost tell when they're going to do it now. I just thank the tree, pocket the branch, and add it to the pile when I get home. Oh and I'm on my second focus stone, the first exploded after only a few years. I reckon I pretty much always give off this 'static' now, since Baldemort killed the parasite."

"What happens if you don't take the potion?"

"Bad things. There has only been one time, and I never want to go through that again. Three people were pretty much annihilated without a trace, the building was warped beyond salvaging, and if I hadn't passed out on the ground I have no idea what else would have happened. It ended up with the Unspeakables somehow getting me out of there, and I spent a fortnight with them after I woke up, although it took me a while to believe who they were. It took them almost a whole week to contain the site, and now it's a no-go zone, overgrown with magical weeds feeding off the residue. When two sides prepare for war, they collect all their resources first, before something triggers a confrontation. They made me miss my dose the day that they took me, and then they did something a couple of weeks later that triggered it all. By that stage I didn't really care what happened I think, since my mind was a bit detached; I just wanted _them_ stopped, and my magic back. They had restraints that lock people's magic away, you see, so it wasn't even being drained a tiny bit. Along with my stone having exploded three weeks before, and me not having visited Hogwarts for a few months, it was just a disaster waiting to happen. I tried to tell them, but they were having too much fun carving me up to listen," Harry said with forced nonchalance.

It took all of L's effort to keep walking, as the picture in his mind became clearer and clearer with every word.

"When is your next dose due?" L asked quietly.

"On the fifth of every month. Even if I have the one in your pocket tonight, I'll still need the regular dose; tonight's dose to do the stabilising, the usual dose to _keep_ it stable. That's why the bunch of flowers was so big earlier, because there are only a few days to go, but even so they were pretty big. Not sure what all that is about, though."

"I cannot help but to be..."

"A little bit frightened? It's normal. Not a lot of people know about this problem, but those that do tend to keep their distance when my eyes start glowing. I did tell you that I am a weapon; I just didn't tell you that I'm a walking weapon of mass destruction. If it was just me, or if I was taking you a short distance, I wouldn't need the extra potion."

"Alarmed would be a better choice."

"You and your posh way of putting things... Honestly. Were you born old? There's no need to worry, by the way. After it happened, I had a place built that would keep everything contained, and I sort of have a hidden portkey that can take me there."

L said nothing.

"We're almost there anyway. We should check in with Molly first, she'll probably give us a job to do. Some of the others won't start arriving until about quarter past, and then the guests will turn up at around half past. I'm hoping that Teddy is already there, since 'Dromeda usually helps Molly with the cooking. They've probably wrecked all the tables again too; every time they get brought out, the Weasley males pick one and start an epic flying table battle. Actually, I can hear them now."

Sure enough when L listened carefully, he could hear loud whoops and cheers, and the occasional crashing and splintering of wood.

"Damn! I almost forgot... Kreacher!"

_Crack_.

"What is Master Harry asking of Kreacher?"

"Happy New Year, Kreacher! Well, almost. Could you get the presents for the kids, since I totally forgot to bring them?"

"Of course, Master Harry. I be placing them with the others, before you reach the house. I is already delivering the others like you said."

"Thanks Kreacher."

Kreacher nodded and disappeared with another _crack_.

"Right, come on then! We have to be quick or I won't get a table. Molly will understand."

With that, Harry took off jogging towards the crashing sounds, leaving L to slowly follow behind, since he saw no point in jogging. He would get there soon enough. He soon heard even louder sounds of welcome, and he hung back slightly, watching from just around the corner as Harry was bodily tackled to the ground by no less than four red-headed men.

"Bloody hell! Get off me, that table over there is mine!"

"No way Harry, you always cheat!" This was said by a stocky man in his late twenties or early thirties, who was sitting on Harry's stomach.

"It's not cheating; it's making good use of my resources!"

"It bloody well isn't!"

"Alright, alright! This time I won't use bludgeoning hexes to break everyone else's tables. Fair?"

"No tickling jinxes, no buckets of water, just your table!"

"Fine!"

L watched as five tables rose into the air. Harry's table was green. One glance at Harry's face was enough for L to know that he was up to something. A younger red-headed man counted down from three, and when he shouted "Go!" the tables were all sent crashing into each other with a tremendous _bang_.

Two of the tables broke into half a dozen pieces straight away – to the notable dismay of their handlers – and two more tables were soon missing their legs, which went flying in random directions. It was then that L noticed yet another red-headed man who wasn't taking part. He was flicking his wand in the air, and L observed that he was making sure that no bits of flying table hit anyone.

The only table unharmed was the green one, which the others didn't fail to notice.

"What the hell, Harry?" shouted the same man that had done the counting.

"Hey, I didn't go back on my word, Ron! I only used the table!"

"Yes, but what did you _do_ to the table Harry?" asked Ron.

"Well I reinforced it, didn't I?" Harry replied, grinning. A man with a strange sort of fang hanging from his ear chuckled, as well as a man with one ear missing.

"You cheating git!" shouted Ron.

"What? It's not my fault that I thought of it first! Anyway, I haven't said hello to Molly yet, and I think I might have lost someone. Has anyone seen a random Unspeakable wandering around?"

"Nah mate, sorry," said the man with the earring.

"Ah. No worries, I'm sure he hasn't gone far. I'll catch up with you all later, yeah?"

"Hang on a minute! Fix the tables will you? It'll take us ages otherwise!" called the man with one ear.

Harry rolled his eyes at the blatant lie and just nodded, and soon the five tables were restored to their natural state.

"Thanks Harry! See you later!"

L waited until Harry came around the corner before speaking.

"It is rather rude to leave a person who is unfamiliar with their surroundings to fend for themselves."

"Hey, it's not my fault that you hid around the corner, is it?"

"I wasn't hiding, I was observing."

"Whatever you say. Come on, Molly will be in the kitchen."

It was then that L took a proper look at the house that they were about to enter, and he was alarmed to note that it looked as if it was about to collapse. He rightfully assumed that the only thing holding the house up was magic.

"This looks unsafe."

"I know, but it really isn't. It's much bigger on the inside too, and it's a lot more stable than it used to be. This is one of my favourite places! It was the first proper wizarding household I ever saw, after Ron, Fred and George had managed to help me escape from the... my relatives. Come and meet Molly, she's brilliant. A bit scary sometimes, but brilliant."

**A/N:** Who can guess what the letters on the potion in L's pocket mean? I doubt anyone will get it, but it's worth a guess, you never know... AMESS-HJP. Prove me wrong.

The next chapter is a bit longer :-)

Oh and changed their thingymabob (Interface? Style?)! I thought something went wrong with my browser or something, but no, it's actually changed. Plus the new bits below! I actually had to look up what the '+1' meant... It's a 'Google Thing', apparently.

I'm resigned to the fact that I'm a terrible rambler, and that my chapters will reflect this. Not everything is necessary for the actual story, but I find that I like writing about it anyway... Plus I figure that it will make the important bits more of a challenge to spot if they're stuck in amongst my crazy ramblings! That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it. :-p On that note, the New Year's Party has a 'Part 1' and a 'Part 2'. Next time you get Part 1.

Oh and the most 'popular' chapter so far is chapter 12, with a whopping 29 reviews! I shall endeavour to write a chapter worthy of breaking this record. At some point. I'll let you know if I succeed.

As always, thank you for letting me know that people actually enjoy reading this nonsense!


	16. Chapter 16

The answer to the potion puzzle from the last chapter is... Accumulated Magical Energy Stabilising Solution – Harry James Potter. Kudos to mabidiso, who pretty much got it through sheer perseverance! (and coffee?)

Enjoy this super long chapter, Part one of the Weasley New Year Party. It's pretty much a story in its own right, as any decent party should be. Even then there's stuff I couldn't fit in!

**Chapter 16**

They stepped into the house, and they could hear quite a few female voices, along with high pitched squeals.

"Come on, kitchen's this way. If we go to the living room, it will be chaos. That's where the children will be. No doubt they'll be out soon though."

They entered the kitchen, and L stared, amazed as he saw the sheer quantity of steaming food that had been cooked. There must have been enough to feed at least two hundred people. All of the food was sitting on massive shelves that resembled huge coffee tables stacked on top of each other. The smell was indescribable, a strange mixture of everything that wasn't unpleasant to the senses at all. L was relieved when he saw plenty of dessert items; he hadn't been looking forward to attempting to eat _other_ food.

"Pssst, Molly!"

A plump red-haired woman turned around, and the first thing that L noticed about her was that she had a kind face. Her eyes sparkled when she saw Harry, and L could see that she genuinely cared about him. She flicked her wand, and the spoon that she had been holding started stirring the contents of the pot itself, joining the seventeen other pots that were steaming away, each with their own spoon. L mentally noted that the pots all looked like small cauldrons, and there was even one massive cauldron that was boiling away in the corner, with an equally massive spoon propped against the wall, the business end of which was resting on a dinner plate that had been placed on the floor for that specific purpose.

"Harry! I was expecting you five minutes ago; you got involved in the table fighting I assume?"

Harry grinned and nodded. "I figured you'd guess where I was. This is my friend Ryuuzaki, but since he's here as an Unspeakable tonight, Panda would be better in front of other people." Harry said, nodding his head towards L. "Ryuuzaki, meet Molly Weasley."

"Greetings, Mrs Weasley. You were the one who made the apple and cinnamon pie? Don't worry; I won't give away the trace amounts of three other ingredients that you added. It was a very good pie," L stated politely.

"Ah... Nice to meet you Ryuuzaki," Molly said faintly, unnerved by the cloak, yet impressed with the young man's superior sense of taste, and his polite manner of speaking.

"By the way Molly, that was Ryuuzaki-speak for, 'that pie was bloody brilliant, I'd like to leave with at least two of them, preferably five; and if you give me strawberry cheesecake, that would be even better', he's just shy," said Harry, grinning widely. Molly just snorted in amusement.

"Harry, I would appreciate it if you would refrain from putting words in my mouth. I most definitely did not mean to say that at all. That was rather rude of you." L stated bluntly.

Molly tilted her head slightly, staring at the hunched, shuffling form of 'Ryuuzaki', who was starting to feel the urge to fidget. Harry grinned even wider, and he looked positively gleeful as he peered over Molly's shoulder before moving to the side, as if he was waiting for something, although L had no idea what it could be.

His thumb flew to rest on his bottom lip, and he poked it slightly with his tongue as he thought, noting that Harry was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet at his side.

Apparently he had been looking in the wrong direction.

"Oh aren't you just adorable!" Molly exclaimed, beaming at L and engulfing the anti-social detective in a rib crushing hug before he even knew what was happening. "Welcome to The Burrow, dear! You are far too thin; we'll have to fatten you up a bit! Make sure you don't leave this house tonight until you've had your fill, is that clear? Start the New Year off on a full stomach!" Molly brought her hand to the back of L's head.

L was stunned into silence, and he flinched at the raw concern emanating from the woman, nodding automatically in response to her entirely reasonable demand, once again flinching harshly as he realised exactly what part of the woman's anatomy his face was pressed up against. He stopped breathing, he stopped thinking, and without his consent his body started to relax, even if his mind was screaming for him to run before things turned nasty.

"Hey, don't say that, there won't be any cake or pudding left for the rest of us! He only eats desserts, sweets and cake. Anyway, don't I get hugs anymore? Have I been replaced?" Harry said in a falsely injured tone, pouting dramatically and barely hiding a grin. Molly grinned back over L's head.

"Of course not, Harry dear!" Molly stated, patting L gently on the head and releasing the shell-shocked man.

Immediately grabbing Harry, she muttered loud enough for just the two of them to hear; three if L's hearing was as good as Harry suspected it was.

"I remember when you were still a lad, thin as a twig because those damned relatives of yours wouldn't even feed you properly! It was like you'd never gotten a proper hug before, or a proper meal, or a proper anything really... I decided then and there that I would be whatever you needed for as long as you needed it." She pulled back and held him at an arm's length. "Now look at you! Not only has that little boy learned how to properly hug me back after a whole decade of effort on my part; he's grown up into a fine young man, who has been doing a lot more work over these past few months than he has led us all to believe. Hasn't he Harry dear?" she finished with a predatory glare.

Harry swore he could feel beads of sweat gathering. "I- I'm-"

"We shall be having words, young man, believe me," stated Molly forcefully, waving a gloopy spoon that she'd just plucked out of a pot in Harry's pale face. "Arthur's been staying later, and the place is in chaos even with two people replacing you. I don't know what kind of hours you must have been pulling, but I for one am glad that you're no longer doing it."

Harry gulped.

"Now, I don't have much time before I have to check on this next round of food, but I will say this," Molly started, waving her wand absently as she inadvertently copied Harry's actions of the night before, when he had summoned various items from cupboards and drawers. "You," she stated, pointing her wand at Ryuuzaki and making him flinch, "Ah, sorry dear... Anyway, for some reason you remind me of Harry here." She stooped down slightly, and placed her hand on top of the hood, patting L's head as she peered under the hood. "You'll always be welcome here, dear. Although, if you plan to live in that cloak, we should probably set up a password. One can never be too careful!" She smiled warmly, before heading towards the stove. "Now boys, there is a gate outside in need of watching, as everyone should be arriving shortly, so out you go, be polite, and get out of my kitchen! Shoo!"

They couldn't move fast enough, and if they weren't both so thin, there would have been a fight to get through the doorway. Neither of them stopped running until they were almost at the gate.

"I vote that we conveniently forget any of that happened until later... preferably never. All in favour?" asked Harry wryly.

"Aye," was the immediate reply.

"Done," stated Harry solemnly.

Just as they had both gotten their breath back, they raised their heads as they heard a little voice shouting from the direction they had just run from.

"Wait! Wait for me!"

Harry practically lit up in happiness, and L saw that the voice belonged to a small red-haired boy who was running towards them. He was wearing a red knitted jumper with a picture of a grey wolf on the front.

"That's my Godson," Harry said, grinning stupidly.

L looked between Harry, the red haired little boy with brown eyes, and the rest of the red haired people in the distance who seemed to be working on some sort of magical lanterns (it was then that he noticed the spotlights that had been lighting the area before). This little boy bore a distinct resemblance to the Weasley family.

"I know, but just wait," said Harry, knowing what L was thinking. "Teddy, will you show my friend what you really look like?"

The little boy turned to stare at him.

"Daddy Harry," he started unsurely, still staring at L. "Why's he got no face? Did he get Uncle George's Darkness Powder in his hood? Did it get vanished by a spell? Did someone steal a shadow and put it in there?" He turned back to Harry. "Why's he got no face, Daddy Harry?"

"Well Teddy, be yourself again and I will tell you."

Suddenly to L's amazement, Teddy's hair changed from reddish orange to black, his freckles disappeared, and his eyes changed from brown to golden. He looked slightly nervous.

"That would be a terribly useful ability to have," L said, his thumb disappearing into the shadows, roughly where his mouth would be.

"Nana says not to bite my thumb, but I do it anyways too. See," Teddy held up his thoroughly bitten thumb for inspection, and L nodded sagely. "Watch this, I can be a little Daddy Harry!" said Teddy with a bit more enthusiasm, apparently happy to have found something in common with the faceless stranger. He screwed up his little face in concentration.

To L's further amazement, this time the structure of the boy's face changed to match Harry's true features, as well as his hair and eyes. He truly was looking at an exact copy of Harry at a younger age. Harry laughed.

"Well done Teddy, you're coming along really well in your studies, aren't you? Have you been reading your Mother's journals?"

"Yeah, Nana helped with the really big words. Daddy Harry... I figured out what to ask for, for my birthday, but I don't want you to say no." Teddy shuffled on his feet, and his hair turned white. Harry frowned.

"Well I will try my best. I'm sure it can't be that bad. Do you want to whisper it?"

Teddy nodded, and shuffled towards Harry, his hair turning bright red. Harry knelt down on one knee, and Teddy began to whisper.

L watched curiously as Harry turned pale, the colour leeching from his face at an astonishing rate, before he sat heavily on the grass.

"I'm sorry! Please don't be mad!" Teddy had tear tracks running down his face, and looked distraught. L couldn't really tell what colour his hair was anymore.

"I'm not mad, Teddy, just - come here." It was the weariest tone that L had heard from Harry since they'd met.

L shamelessly stood his ground where others would have walked away to give the two some privacy, and was rewarded, much to his pleasure.

"Grandma told me the story, and I asked if it was true, and she looked funny, and I found a book, and I know you've got two, and I hoped you had it, and I'm really _really_ sorry!"

"Don't be sorry... You've never met them, so I should have expected you to ask this of me one day. I'm afraid that you may be right... I can't promise you anything, but we'll have a big family meeting about it, and see what happens alright? It can be rather dangerous and we might have to wait until you are slightly older. I will think on it Teddy, and speak to the others, and I will let you know. This _must_ stay in the family though, alright? It's very important. You can't tell _anyone_."

"I know," said Teddy sadly, one of his little fingers tracing one of the thicker scars on Harry's neck. "You will think really hard about it?" Harry nodded. "Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good. So why does Mr Shadowface have a shadow face? You said you'd tell." Teddy's hair once again turned black.

Harry stood up with Teddy in his arms, and began walking towards a large tree, where a little red-haired girl was squealing as she was being pushed on a swing. He glanced back at L and motioned with his head to follow.

"I don't suppose I did tell you my friend's name, did I? Teddy, this is my friend Panda. He's wearing a special cloak with a spell in the hood, to keep the shadows there. We're helping each other with work, and so he's got to have a secret identity."

"Like Spiderman?"

"Yes, like Spiderman."

"Can he shoot webs out his hands like Spiderman can?"

"No Teddy."

"Can he fly like Superman?"

"No Teddy."

"Is he like the X-Men?"

"No Teddy."

"So what can he do? What's his super power? Does he save people?"

"Lots of things, he's super super smart, and sort of. He catches bad guys."

Teddy looked at Ryuzaki.

"I'm a GOOD guy, so don't catch me, ok?" the little boy said seriously, with wide green eyes.

L grinned behind the shadows, and replied, "You stay being a good guy, and I won't have to chase you."

Teddy gulped. "I will!"

"TEDDY! Come play in the treehouse! Hello Uncle Harry!" shouted the little girl as she jumped off the swing. Teddy started wiggling.

"Daddy Harry, let me down! Victoire wants to play!"

Harry put Teddy down and waved, as Teddy quickly ran to catch up to the red haired girl, disappearing behind some bushes. The two men turned and walked back towards their spot by the gate.

L looked at Harry.

"Daddy Harry?"

"Shush, it was George's fault. Got him saying it, and the more I twitched, the more he said it. Uncle George had no hair for a month. It would have been two weeks, but then I found out that he'd installed arguments too."

"Arguments?"

"Well, I said that Remus was his Daddy, and that me being his Daddy wouldn't be right, and that I was his Godfather. Then he asked if I was in the 'Mah-fee-ah' and I said no, then - he was three, mind you - he told me that since I wasn't in the Mafia, he couldn't call me Godfather Harry. Then he asked if I was a priest. You can see where this is going, right?" L nodded. "So 'Father Harry' was out of the question, thank Merlin. All the while, I'm wondering where he learned about the muggle Mafia of all things, and when I asked him, he told me it was Uncle George. I was going to give him hair down to his ankles and hex it so that it stayed that length, but ended up hexing his hair off instead."

"...Interesting."

"I thought I heard you, Harry! Heard you've been abroad somewhere?" said a new voice. Harry grinned and waved, and when L turned around he saw a young man around the same age as Harry. He had gentle eyes.

"Neville! Long time no see! Yes, I've been out of the country, and probably will be for a while yet. Sorry I missed you earlier, but we were on a tight schedule."

"No worries, I was a bit busy in the greenhouses. I can only stay here until eleven or so; I've got to get back in time to help with three different types of plants that all need harvested tonight. It's going to be rather hectic! Got two older students helping us for extra Herbology credits though, so it could be much worse. Two of yours, actually."

"Madeline and Claire?"

"Yes, actually. How did you guess?"

"They started the giant vegetable patch at the House."

"Ah, that explains it!" Neville replied, chuckling slightly. "McGonagall isn't happy with you, by the way. A certain group of students has been singing your praises, and she knows you've done something to get them all fired up again."

Harry laughed. "Good! Can't have her getting too comfortable, can I?"

"I heard her muttering in the staffroom about how you're a menace even though you're no longer a student! Vector's got it in for you too, so keep an eye out. Poppy wants to see you sometime next week, before I forget. She told me to tell you that she doesn't care where you are or what you're doing; if you haven't voluntarily shown up by the tenth, she said that she would personally see to it that you received a Howler every hour until you got your 'cowardly backside' to the infirmary."

"For the love of Merlin... Between her and 'Dromeda, I'm totally screwed. I swear, what is it with women trying to fix me?"

"It's the orphan thing Harry, you're a lost little puppy and the ladies love it. If that wasn't enough, you had to go and defeat a Dark Lord."

"Damn. I really am screwed... And people wonder why I live on an island!"

Neville punched Harry in the arm, "Hey, cheer up mate. It can't be all that bad. I'm going to go say hello to the rest of the bunch."

"You do that Neville," Harry said, rubbing his arm. "To give you a little taster... THERE GOES NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM! DEFEATER OF NAGINI THE MOST EVIL DARK SNAKE EVER! Except for Slytherin's Basilisk... ALL HAIL NEVILLE! YEY! GO NEVILLE! WOO!"

"Shut up Harry," said Neville, laughing.

"OH MY GOD, SERIOUSLY? NEVILLE?"

"I get it Harry."

"IT IS! LET'S GET HIM! SIGN MY SHIRT NEVILLE!"

Neville rolled his eyes. "It can't be that bad Harry."

"I'm telling you, it's actually worse. I missed out the screaming girl's wanting to have your babies."

"No thanks, I'm happy with Hannah! I figured things would have calmed down a bit by now. Oh, and nice picture in the Prophet! I've got it pinned up in my office."

"Oh, shut up Neville you great git!"

"See you later Harry, and good luck," Neville said laughing, nodding at something behind Harry before walking towards the house.

Harry turned around, and managed not to wince as he saw Ginny walking up the path, still dressed in her Quidditch gear and carrying her broom.

"Hello Ginny..."

"Hello Harry... Let's just spare the awkwardness, and pretend we had a nice conversation."

"That's fine with me. We had a great conversation, but sadly I have my gate keeping duties," Harry said, gesturing to the gate.

"Fine."

"Fine."

Harry watched Ginny's back as she walked away towards the house.

"Ex-girlfriend?"

"Yes Panda, ex-girlfriend. I'd rather not go into it, but let's just say it's probably my fault. I'm still not sure what the issue was exactly," he lied. "She was shouting so loudly that I sort of tuned her out, which probably made things worse. Then I realised that neither of us were actually happy."

"There's a large group of people coming. Why is it that nobody looks in my direction?"

"I've put a Notice-Me-Not charm on you. It's standard for Unspeakables. They can see you, but they are discouraged from thinking about you. Only a certain few will actually notice you without me telling them that you are there, and that is because they know the trick to get past it. Even then, most of those people would behave as if you weren't there."

"Why are they referred to as Unspeakables?"

"After this group, Panda. It's a bunch of Ministry employees, probably came in by Portkey."

"It's Harry Potter!"

"It is! You're right Mafalda!"

"Have you heard?"

"About him going off somewhere? Yes, but nobody knows where!"

"The Prophet said he was sighted in Japan!"

Harry sighed, before calling out, "Hey, I can hear you all from here, you know."

To L's great disgust, every woman in the group giggled and blushed, and a couple of the men did too. The rest were staring slack-jawed.

Harry whispered just loud enough for L to hear, "Here we have several severe cases of 'Wide-Mouthed Tree Frog Syndrome' caused by unnecessary and overenthusiastic hero-worship. I can do no wrong, I tell you. Watch." Harry then turned to the group.

"Hello everyone! If you'd all like to stop giggling like schoolgirls now, and perhaps consider picking your jaws up off the floor, perhaps I can let you into the party. You there! Stop drooling!"

"Yes Sir!"

"Did you see? He looked at me!"

"He's so handsome!"

Harry sighed miserably, and pointed towards the house. "The party is that way." He said tiredly.

Nobody moved.

"For the love of Merlin! Start walking! Or do I have to pick you up and take you there myself?"

Evidently, this was the wrong thing to say.

"Ooh me first!"

"No, I'm Department Head, it should be me first!"

"Like he'd ever look at you, he wants me! He even _looked_ at me!"

L stood and watched incredulously as the group of grown adults that had to be at least twice Harry's age all fought and squabbled like children. It was unbelievable. If he hadn't been standing there watching, he wouldn't have believed it to be true.

"Come on, Panda. Everyone will be arriving within the next couple of minutes anyway. There's a second group coming now, so they can all just follow each other. I don't know how much more of this I can stand," Harry said disgustedly, before turning and walking towards the house, Ginny's back just visible before disappearing through the door.

L nodded, and lengthened his own strides to keep up with Harry. "I don't blame you. I never thought it was possible for a group of people that age to be so idiotic."

Harry snorted. "You'd be surprised at the level of idiocy these people can display. It's embarrassing, quite frankly. Mortifying. I'm afraid that the fairytales of 'wise old wizards that seem to know everything' have probably all died with Professor Dumbledore."

"Hmm." L replied, saying nothing. He could still hear the group squabbling behind them. "So why are Unspeakables called Unspeakables? It would be useful to know, if I'm pretending to be one."

Harry flicked a finger before speaking. "Remember when I said I would die a horrible death if I told you certain things?"

L nodded.

"That is because I am under magical oath. If I break the oath, my magic will turn on itself, and I will be destroyed by it. It's not just death, its annihilation, and by a person's own magic, no less. The only thing left is the soul I should think, which then goes on its own journey of course. Unspeakables are just what the name suggests. They are people who work in a special place, who are under so many Wizard Oaths and Unbreakable Vows that it is safer for them to keep their mouths shut most of the time. One of the most common causes of death for an Unspeakable is to accidentally say something that they shouldn't to someone they shouldn't be saying it to – usually a member of the family. It's really not a pleasant sight I'm told. Generally the quieter they are, the higher up they are. They all have code names too, mostly animals with a few exceptions."

"Ah... Then why so many oaths?"

"There just is."

L decided to stay quiet. He wasn't quite sure what to say, or even think. He could still hear the group behind them muttering about various rumours, and he caught a few mentions of the word 'floo'.

They made their way to be back of the house, where the men he had seen earlier were finishing some lanterns, and floating them up to join the hundreds that were already up there. L saw a little brown-haired girl disappearing behind some trees, and there were a few women that he hadn't seen before with younger infants. There also seemed to be another group of older people talking around a table. Harry quickly dodged behind the porch, and led them to the other side of the house without stopping.

"Where are we going?"

"Give it a few seconds, keep quiet, and you'll find out."

Suddenly the group that had been following them rounded the corner, and stopped.

"Where did he go, Mafalda?"

"I was sure I saw him come this way!"

"Nice one, now we've gone and lost him!"

"Now now Doris, don't get all in a tizzy, I'm sure I saw a drinks table back there. Don't you fret either, Mafalda dear; we'll find you some nice mulled mead, and I'm sure Molly will have organised some smoked haddock."

With a few grumbles, the group turned back. Harry let out an audible breath. "That's why. Come on, I should probably help Molly with the food; that is, if I can get from here to the kitchen. Then I'll get you a bottle of butterbeer! You'll like it, it's really sweet, and it hasn't got alcohol. I'll take the notice-me-not off charm off you now since there are more people. If someone else in a cloak like yours comes up to you, tell them to stop talking instantly, and push the green button. _Then_ tell them you're with me."

L thought for a moment before looking at the watch that Harry had given him, which was still on his wrist. Sure enough, there was a green button on one side. There were other buttons too, but he decided that this was not the time to ask about them.

They made their way back to the kitchen, nodding to various people along the way. Or at least Harry nodded; L just ignored them. Harry had been correct in saying that they would ignore him, for which he was grateful. His eyes took in the vast difference between various colours and styles of robe, and he took note of people who wore various different symbols. Some robes were so bright in colour that they looked as if they were lit from within, and others had various designs that moved and made his eyes hurt to look at them. The number of people that were milling around had increased impossibly in the two minutes that they had been standing around the corner, and there wasn't a single vehicle in sight. Music had also started playing, and L couldn't tell which direction it came from.

They reached the kitchen, narrowly avoiding a collision with a beautiful white haired woman who quickly apologised in French, although she didn't blush. Harry smiled at her.

"No worries Fleur! I should have been watching where I was going. You go first."

This time when they entered the kitchen there was Ginny, plus an older woman with black hair, both working on the food with Molly; Ginny was putting the food onto the plates, whilst the older woman was casting some sort of spell over the filled plates before they hovered to the massive shelves.

Barely five seconds had passed before L found himself seated in a corner of the dining room by Molly Weasley, with a strawberry tart shoved under his nose. He caught a glimpse of Harry as he left the kitchen, a line of breadbaskets interspersed with wine bottles bobbing along happily behind him. L quickly dismissed the fork that had been placed in front of him, and brought out his own. Molly Weasley disappeared somewhere, muttering something about cooking times.

L had almost finished his strawberry tart by the time Harry returned, and thankfully nobody had tried to talk to him.

"I'm back for a bit, Panda. I usually eat in here anyway, and pick at the buffet table; otherwise it gets a bit ridiculous at parties like this. There's someone else we need to talk to since we are here, then someone else after that, then Hermione again. I'm not sure about everything else, though."

L nodded slowly, slightly wary after he'd seen the amount of people gathered outside. Harry was about to speak when he suddenly stopped as Teddy came running into the room.

"Daddy Harry, when can I come visit you?"

"I'm not sure; I'll have to get back to you on that one. I'm sure I'll find a spare moment somewhere. Oh and guess what!"

"What?" Teddy squealed.

"Well, it just so happens that when I look out of my apartment, I can see an actual volcano; and it's _huge_!"

"Oh! Oh! You mean Fuji, right? Can we go? Can we go right to the top, and look inside? Is it going to have a disruption?"

"Ha! Why not? Sounds like fun! You've completely sold me on that idea little Teddy! Hey, Panda? You wouldn't happen to know a volcano that's actually doing something at the moment, would you?"

L, who was tempted to request that he tag along (for scientific purposes, of course), gave the matter some serious thought, which took less than half a second.

"Klyuchevskaya."

"...Uhm, come again? Or do you need a tissue for that one?"

Teddy giggled.

"That's the name of the _volcano_ Daddy Harry! You're silly!"

"Hey, I don't know these things! Show me a bad guy and I'll sort him out, I'll leave all that smart volcano stuff to you and Panda!"

Teddy looked inquisitively up at the shadows obscuring L's face.

"Do you like volcanoes too Mr Panda? My globe tells me where they all are, and all their names! I can put my finger on, and it will show me disruptions!"

"Eruptions, Teddy..." murmured Harry quietly, although he was ignored, much to his relief. In only a few years, Teddy would be too old to make these endearing little mistakes...

"Really? Fascinating... I wouldn't have minded one of those when I was smaller," L remarked.

"TEDDY!" cried a small female voice, quickly followed by the little girl from the garden. "Grandma's got cookies!" she said, as if it was the most important event in human history.

"But Victoire, they're for after dinner..."

"Yeah Teddy but they're just out of the oven! Come on, Grandma's busy, so we can sneak some! They smell really yummy!" It was only then that she noticed the two adults, and she gasped cutely.

"Uncle Harry! Don't tell!" she squeaked.

"Tell who what where why?" Harry asked, grinning. "Be extra sneaky, there's enough people here to distract her, off you go! Quick!"

The two children grinned up him cheekily before scampering towards the kitchen.

"They are clever," L commented.

"Not much choice with all of us around."

"Hm."

Both turned their heads when a screech issued forth from the kitchen, followed by plenty of laughter from somewhere.

"YOU LITTLE MENACES! NO MORE BEFORE DINNER, NOW! I MEAN IT! DON'T GO TOO FAR, IT WILL BE READY SOON!"

Harry grinned and chuckled under his breath. "Are you finished yet Panda? If I'm not wrong, then that was George that I heard laughing, and it's George we need to see. If we're quick, we'll catch him before he starts drinking the heavy stuff."

L stood and followed Harry back through the kitchen and out of the back door. He followed Harry through the crowd, noticing that everyone had seemingly split into various groups, who all sounded as if they were catching up on gossip. He observed that most of the people were women, and that most of the men he had seen before seemed to have disappeared. It seemed that Harry was heading towards a small tent that definitely hadn't been there the last time L had been outside.

Upon entering the tent, it immediately became apparent as to where the men had disappeared to. The tent was a _lot_ larger once inside; and L was surprised to see a good number of antique looking tables set up, surrounded by various mismatched chairs of every shape, size, style and colour imaginable, from dining chair to armchair. Almost every chair was occupied, but there was plenty of room for more.

"The drinks tent," Harry said quietly. "No children can get in, and everyone conjures their own chair, or has someone do it for them. It's only wine, pumpkin juice or butterbeer outside the tent – speaking of which, I got you a butterbeer!" Harry said as he took a bottle out of his pocket, flipping the lid off as he handed it to L.

L took the bottle cautiously. "It's warm," he stated. Harry nodded and explained absently as he scanned the crowd.

"We drink it warm in winter, and cold in summer. Both are good, you should try it. You have to drink something after all. George! OI! GEORGE!" Harry shouted, waving at a red-headed man wearing bright yellow robes. Or at least, they were bright yellow, before suddenly changing to sky-blue as he turned.

"Alright, Harry?" George replied after having located him. "You brought a friend too! Aww our ickle Harrykins is all grown up!" George stated dramatically, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye before slapping Harry on the back and making him stumble. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but George slapped his hand over Harry's mouth and shouted, "OI LEE! Bring Harry a drink!"

"A SPECIAL DRINK?" Lee hollered back as Harry slapped George's hand away.

Harry shouted "NO!" at the same time as George shouted, "YES!"

"Damn it George! Just the one; and I mean it! Then we're sticking to butterbeers. I've got to get us both back tonight, and you know where we've to end up! Are you trying to get us dumped in the sea?"

"That's why you need the new..." George raised his voice, "Sober-Up-Suckers! Overly intoxicated? Sssslurring your sssentences ssslightly? Then suck on a Sober-Up-Sucker before you go, and the girlfriend need never know! Available now from Lee at the bar, five sickles a pop!"

"George, your sales pitches don't work on me, and there is no girlfriend," Harry stated, as he snatched a floating drink out of the air.

"It's a party!" George exclaimed, gesturing around. "At least five people hear me every time I open my mouth! Business is business, after all, and this is our biggest party of the year!"

"George, I've seen the bank statements; trust me, you don't need to advertise!" Harry replied, leading both L and George out of the tent and towards a rickety old shed. Dumbledore had thought it safe enough, and it would suit his own purposes. He opened the door, and the three of them managed to cram themselves between various broken muggle items. L and George kept quiet as Harry started flicking his wand around. "Anyway... George, this person here is Panda. He'd be Owl, but that's already been taken. I need a favour," Harry said quietly, and much to L's surprise, George calmed down immediately, and appeared to be sixty percent more sober.

"Name it," George stated seriously.

"First, the passwords."

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," said George after a quick glance at L.

"Mischief managed," Harry replied, before grinning slightly. "It's actually a favour and maybe two challenges... For the favour, I need you to help Panda. I don't just mean today, I mean for as long as necessary. If something happens to me, or for some reason I'm stuck at the Ministry for a week again and Panda can't get in touch, then I want you to be next in line."

George stared at Harry for a moment.

"You're completely serious, aren't you? What's going on? I don't believe you for a minute about being stuck at the Ministry; if anyone could walk out of there any time they pleased, it would be you. You're expecting something else, aren't you?"

"Can't really say until it's been sorted, but if I die and Panda doesn't, he will need a magical guardian. There's one other, but if you were ever needed to step up, it would be Panda who would contact you."

George sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair.

"Not Hermione, then? I would expect her to be first on your list."

"She's got far too much to be going on with; she's pretty much booked for the next few decades as it is with the amount of projects she's got lined up. If something came up at the wrong stage of her research, it could set her back for months. I know you've got the business to run, but you've got Lee and the girls helping you out, and I know you'd manage to sneak away at the drop of a hat. Plus, if Panda needs something, I know you'll be able to get hold of it somehow, or invent it if it's not out there already. You're my go-to guy, so it only makes sense to trust you with this. So what do you say?"

George shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Alright mate, you've got nothing to worry about. If something happens to you, then I'll look out for Panda. I won't have to though, because nothing will happen to you. You'll find this Kira guy, sort him out, and then you'll come back and do your job you lazy git!" George joked, grabbing Harry's head and messing with his hair, not that it made much difference.

Harry grinned. "Thanks George; knew I could count on you! I'll have that paperwork done in the next couple of days by the way, and have Kreacher give it to you. Anyway, proper introductions! George, meet Panda. Panda managed to manipulate Kreacher into making him a whole chocolate cake after barely meeting him, bearing in mind that just minutes before, Panda had called Kreacher a gnome, and Kreacher was ready to turn him into one. Oh and he loves sweets."

"Wicked!" George said, grinning. "Now _that_ I would have paid to see! Panda mate, I like you already! You're in luck, by the way. Most of the stuff I make is some sort of sweet, just with a few added extras!" George finished, laughing.

"Panda, this is George Weasley. He is co-founder of his own business, a shop that sells all sorts of prank and joke items, which are all original inventions." George took a bow as Harry continued, "He and his brother also played a big part in the war, inventing some nifty gadgets and traps to slow down the Death Eaters... Portable Swamps are awesome... Then there was Potterwatch, the illegal radio broadcasts that involved our friendly barman Lee, who was the one that started it. The three of them kept us going in those days, I swear."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr Weasley," said L.

"Blimey, no need for that, I'm just George! There are far too many Mr Weasley's for you to say that around here!"

Harry and George both laughed, thinking of how true that was.

"Anyway," George continued, "Has Harry here actually introduced himself properly?"

"Yes George, he read the book-" Harry said quickly before George once again slapped a hand over Harry's mouth.

"Now now Harrykins, let the man speak; and giving him a book doesn't count!" He turned back to L, ignoring Harry's glare. "Well has he then?"

"The book was rather informative."

"Ah, but books aren't everything my dear Panda, definitely not! For example, the book doesn't tell you about the first time he used the Floo, does it?" George said before removing his hand.

Off to the side, Harry groaned into his hands.

"I do not recall reading anything similar in the book; however I did see a recent newspaper article involving Floo travel."

"Yeah, we all had a good laugh at that! We've got a copy pinned up in the office so as not to forget him; or should I say, so that the Aurors don't forget to mention it to him when he gets back! Well, the first time he used the Floo..."

Harry made another unhappy noise and shook his head, his face still held in his hands.

Ten minutes later, the three of them left the shed, George and 'Panda' discussing _candy floss_, of all things. Harry had finally just walked out after finishing his drink, and the other two had followed when they noticed the door opening.

"Harry," L called.

"Panda."

"You forgot to mention what your challenges were, Harry."

Harry stopped, before waving his hands around for a moment.

"Ah, that was it! Actually Panda, I meant to ask you if you could think of anything that would help you. I've already got an idea, and you could sell this one George, so get your parchment out."

George brought out a roll of parchment and a self-inking quill from one of his pockets.

"Fire away, Harry!"

"Right, how about this... I'd like some vanilla biscuits that contain a mild truth potion. It only has to last a few minutes or so, and it has to be safe for muggles too, just in case they find a plate full just lying around somewhere. Actually, it might be funny to make an antidote that tastes disgusting; so if it was a game, you could choose to either tell the truth, or eat the disgusting antidote. It sounds like something we'd end up playing in the dorms."

L was mentally jumping up and down in excitement and clapping his hands at the possibilities. Outwardly he showed no sign however, and merely searched his pocket for a lollipop.

"Does a bit, doesn't it?" answered George thoughtfully. "Sounds like it would be worth a shot at least. I'll see what I can do about the biscuits. Does it need to be vanilla?"

"Not sure why I said vanilla but it sounds tasty, so why not?"

"Fair enough... So what do you reckon would be disgusting enough to make people want to tell the truth?"

"That one will take a bit of thought, George. Berty Botts have got a bit of a monopoly on the disgusting flavours, or else I'd suggest earwax."

"I have an idea for something to make," L said suddenly, gaining their attention.

"Alrighty then, we'll come back to the disgusting flavours later. What's your request, Panda?" said George, his quill hovering over the parchment.

"I'd like sugar cubes that give people a heart attack."

George wiggled his finger in his remaining ear, and leaned forward.

"Come again?" he said.

"That's rather morbid... No more TV for you," Harry said, giving L a strange look.

"Or what I mean to say is; I would like sugar cubes that appear to give someone a heart attack, so that everyone around them would believe that they are dead, even if checked by a doctor."

"That's still a bit on the morbid side, but I'll go with it. The effects would be simple enough, but I'm not sure about actually simulating a heart attack. There may need to be some acting involved," George said, his quill finishing what it was writing. "Of course, it wouldn't work with wizards, just muggles," He told L, before muttering to himself, "It would have to be timed, otherwise you'd need someone to get you back on your feet..."

"Explain."

"Yes, Panda, I will explain," said Harry, rolling his eyes. "When a wizard dies, the Goblins are generally the first to know about it unless there's someone watching the monitors at the Ministry, which is mostly pointless. Anyway, the Goblins then send a notice to the Aurors with their name, the time that they died, the place where it happened, so on and so forth. The Aurors then go to retrieve said person (if they are in an awkward place) and return them to their families, and they check on things to make sure there hasn't been some foul play involved, like with inheritances and such. Quite a few wealthy families have a history of the oldest son killing off the father when the son feels that their father is going senile."

"True enough. I still reckon Lucius Malfoy did his old man in," George said.

"So it would be impossible for a witch or wizard to fabricate their death?"

"I wouldn't say impossible, since I try not to use that word if I can help it. There are a few ways around it, but it's so much fuss that you'd have to be rather desperate, and rich. Bribing Goblins is not cheap. It's possible to disappear for a while, but death is still registered with the Goblins, and then the Ministry. Most people who want to disappear just bribe the Goblins to keep quiet on their status, which is actually rather useless; after all, when the person dies, their will gets read, so it's easy to tell who is dead and who is hiding. There is one other way, but I'm not supposed to say what it is, and I'd be an idiot if I gave it away."

"Right you two," George stated, "I'll get onto that and let you know. It might be a while though, since Angie's getting a bit fed up with me never being at home."

"Sorry about that mate; but could you see Ron doing it all on his own?"

"Nah. It's alright ickle Harrykins, we're getting there. It was a nightmare the first couple of days, but everyone's helping each other out so it's not so bad," George said, slapping Harry on the back. "You've got nothing to worry about. Oh, except for two Aurors who want to book time off next week; you need to sign those and get them back in time to go through. Everything else has been more or less dealt with in some way or another. Although, I saw a couple of rather suspicious characters on my way here with the crates, so be careful. I called out to them to state their business, but they both purposefully ignored me, so I figured, shoot first and ask questions later, right? They can't have been up to any good, especially in the dark. Anyway, just before I nailed one with a nasty Concussion Hex, they Disapparated. Not sure why one took the other side-along though, unless they were likely to splinch themselves."

"No problem George, thanks mate. Don't worry, I'll watch my back; and if I see any suspicious characters hanging around when I leave, I'll let you know. Probably someone making sure they know how to get here or something."

"Well you just be careful Harry, I know how often these things tend to end up involving you somehow."

With that, George whacked him on the shoulder before heading back towards the drinks tent.

"Right, now we have to find Percy. He'll be over near the bureaucrats' tables, no doubt. Although 'Mione might have one or two going spare, just in case I lose mine... Sounds like the kind of thing she would do."

Harry suddenly stopped, seeming to come to a decision, and headed back to the house instead. L had no idea what Harry was talking about, and had no choice but to follow him.

When they reached the house, they went to a different room then before; this room appeared to be a living room, or a lounge. Ron and Hermione were sitting next to each other on one sofa, with Neville and Hannah opposite them on another. All four stopped talking when they saw Harry, and waved him over with smiles on their faces. They all even nodded at L, which shocked the man slightly. He hesitantly nodded back.

"Hey guys, this is Panda. Panda, you've met 'Mione and Neville, so this is Ron," Harry said, pointing to the red-head, who waved, "and this is Hannah." She waved and smiled.

"Pleased to meet you," L said quietly.

"Harry mate, you've got to save me. They keep talking about _plants_. I don't see what the fascination is with _plants_ of all things! Most of them are horrible things, anyway!" Ron whispered, as the other three returned to their conversation.

"I'm with you there Ron, there are never any nice plants; they always have to have something _nasty_ about them. If it's not tentacles, it's poison darts. If it's not poison darts, it's that they stink. If it's not that, it's something else. Yup, I'm definitely with you there Ron. Hey, you know you're always complaining that nobody can ever give you a good game of chess?"

"Yeah, even Dad stopped playing, since I always end up beating him," Ron replied wistfully, crossing his arms and no doubt ready to daydream about his various wins.

"Well, I bet Panda can give you a good game!"

Ron perked up slightly and looked at L, or at least where his face should be. "Up for a game?"

L considered for a moment before nodding. Playing chess with Ron would mean that he wouldn't have to go outside again for a while at least.

"I should warn you though, that I have never lost a game," L felt obliged to say.

Ron paused and stared appraisingly at L, who calmly perched on an armchair that Harry conjured for him.

"It's rare that I have, so this should be good!" Ron's eyes had lit up, and the other three were even paying attention now. "I'll get the board!" Ron said, before practically running up the stairs.

"Why didn't he just summon it?" L asked Harry.

"Well Panda, his door is probably magically locked."

"Not that that would stop Harry of course, but with the rest of us mere mortals, we have to at least _see_ the door before unlocking it!" Neville joked.

Soon enough, Ronald Weasley and the World's Greatest Detective were playing chess, not that Ron was aware of exactly who he was playing. Against his expectations, L actually found that he was enjoying himself. Ron was a rather challenging player who quickly adapted to changes on the board, and L found himself employing more subtle methods than usual in an attempt to win the game.

After two hours, L was the clear winner. There was a small group of older witches and wizards who had gathered to watch quietly, most struggling to follow the game due to one amazing fact.

The longest time that L had taken before moving a piece, was just under three minutes; and even then, it was because he was rather busy eating a slice of cake that was so good, that he momentarily forgot that it was in fact his turn to play. The chess pieces themselves were practically worshipping him by the end of the game.

Ron himself couldn't believe it. "What the hell... Merlin's beard! I never even saw that coming! Next thing I know, wham! That has to be the best game of chess I've ever played!"

"Don't let Minerva hear you say that, Ron, she's only in the next room," Hermione teased.

"True enough 'Mione, but I didn't get a concussion from this game, did I? I can't believe I actually _lost_..."

L stood before clearing his throat awkwardly, and Ron looked up. "Thank you for the game... I too, have had problems in finding someone to play against. It has been many years since I last played against someone other than myself, or a computer." L's eyes scanned the room, looking for Harry as he spoke, but L saw no sign of him. He'd only seen Harry a few times during the course of the game, actually.

"No problem, I guess. Hang on, there are chess computers? 'Mione, why didn't you tell me about chess computers?"

"Well Ron, it's never really crossed my mind..."

L quietly left the room since nobody was paying attention, making his way first to the kitchen, where he spotted Molly Weasley.

"Mrs Weasley..." he started, before he was cut off.

"Oh, hello dear! Before we carry on, who are you here with, and what are you going by?" she stated, magically hulling some strawberries.

"I'm here with Harry, and he is telling everyone to call me Panda."

"Oh good! I'm glad to see you dear; Harry asked me to tell you that he's outside helping with the fireworks. I was just about to come and fetch everyone. There's only ten minutes left!" As she finished speaking, the last of the strawberries were hulled and landed in the bowl, which then floated out of the door, followed by Molly Weasley.

L took a deep breath, and walked outside.

There were people _everywhere_; dancing, clapping, running, jumping, whooping and cheering, not to mention singing. As L wandered amongst the crowds – most of whom moved out of his way, thankfully – he absently took note of the song that was being sung in a rather drunken fashion. It was interesting, purely for the fact that you wouldn't likely catch a muggle singing it. It certainly wasn't amusing to him.

_Billy he was a wandering wizard,_

_A wandering wizard was he!_

_He was supposed to meet his lady friend,_

_In the 'Sticks at half-past three!_

_Well Billy met a miserable Hag,_

_Who insisted on selling her wares,_

_She wouldn't leave poor Billy alone,_

_So he shoved her down the stairs!_

The singing became louder the closer L came to the drinks tent, which was unsurprising.

_Billy he was a wandering wizard,_

_A wandering wizard was he!_

_He was supposed to meet his lady friend,_

_In the 'Sticks at half-past three!_

_Then Billy met a man of cheer,_

_Who remembered him from school,_

_Insisted he had a few butterbeers,_

_Then pushed him off his stool!_

_Billy he was a wandering wizard,_

_A wandering wizard was he!_

_He was supposed to meet his lady friend,_

_In the 'Sticks at half-past three!_

_Well, Billy didn't take kindly to that,_

_And picked himself off the floor,_

_He grabbed the man by his robes, _

_And threw him out the door!_

Now L was even closer to the tent, he saw that most of the people there were rather inebriated, which was also unsurprising. Thankfully he didn't see anyone stupidly waving a wand around. He was starting to become slightly anxious though. He narrowly avoided an accordion that was floating through the crowd, contorting itself at it went.

_Billy he was a wandering wizard,_

_A wandering wizard was he!_

_He was supposed to meet his lady friend,_

_In the 'Sticks at half-past three!_

_Well half-past three came and went,_

_Then half-past four, then five,_

_And Billy was nowhere to be seen,_

_Until at six o'clock he arrived._

_Billy he was a wandering wizard,_

_A wandering wizard was he!_

_He was supposed to meet his lady friend,_

_In the 'Sticks at half-past three!_

_His lady was a clever lass,_

_Who was greatly admired by all,_

_She jinxed his ass to hell and back,_

_And cursed him in the balls!_

At this, there was a massive round of cheering from everyone within earshot, (and even a shout of "That's my girl!" from a random drunk, to which some other random drunk replied, "No t'aint, ye blathering idiot! Drunk as a hinkypunk, ye are!") as everyone then joined in with the chorus.

_Billy he was a wandering wizard,_

_A wandering wizard was he!_

_He was supposed to meet his lady friend,_

_In the 'Sticks at half-past three!_

"Panda?"

L whirled around, only to come face to face with Harry. "There you are! I checked the house, but they said you disappeared! Thankfully Molly told me she'd seen you. I've been trying to catch up for ages, but I kept having to stop and sing that stupid song... Quick! Come on, I've got to get back to George."

Harry then led L past the rowdy drinks tent and through some bushes to a small clearing, where George was fiddling with something. There were many different coloured crates around the clearing.

"There you are Harry! I've set them up. You remember the order, yeah?"

"Same as two years ago, except the reds get fired after the purples, and there's an extra blue before the gold."

"Got it in one. Bill already warded the treehouse after the last time, but hopefully the Basilisk will behave this year, especially with a couple of extra dragons to play with!"

"Still can't believe you set the kids treehouse on fire, that's just low."

George laughed and told Harry to shut up. Harry quickly walked over to L. "Right, stand back a bit, and you should be able to see it all. Before it all gets set off, you've got to stay calm. Yes, you're about to see big fiery shapes in the sky, and yes, they can technically set things on fire, but there's no chance of you getting hurt. The cloak is fireproof, for a start."

L nodded. He was just glad to be away from the crowds.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." George counted down, shouting "Happy New Year, guys!" as he pointed his wand at a group of orange crates. Harry pointed his wand at a significantly larger group of orange crates, both men simultaneously slashing their wands through the air.

The crates exploded open, great massive tongues of fire streaming out of the top and shooting columns of flame hundreds of metres into the sky. L watched in rapt fascination as the fire twisted itself to form the words, 'Happy New Year!' in the sky; other tongues of flame formed the number '2004'. L soon realised that it was almost like watching a play of sorts, as the number 2004 was soon trampled by what L recognised to be a Hippogriff, which was then eaten by a green dragon that swooped down on it. L was vaguely aware of Harry and George blasting open different crates, and shouting timings at each other above the roaring of the flames and the cheers of the crowd.

The green dragon was soon joined by a blue dragon, and both flew through the air in a synchronised pattern, swooping and diving around each other as the crowd cheered them on. Soon there was a yellow dragon, and a red dragon, and then there were four dragons all playing together in the sky. The fire dragons actually breathed fire too, which was used to great effect.

Suddenly, another dragon appeared, only this dragon was somehow made of black flames, outlined in blood red. The crowd obviously did not like this dragon.

Harry and George were setting off coloured rockets now, which closely resembled muggle fireworks, except instead of fading, they hovered in the sky like fairy lights.

The aforementioned Basilisk appeared; the crowd gasped as it wound its way through the 'good' dragons, the coloured flames dulling slightly as the black dragon grew in strength and size. Then, a magnificent flaming Phoenix appeared – just a firework, of course – and along with it, the four coloured dragons burned brighter than before, as the black dragon twisted in apparent rage.

"Ready Harry?"

L looked over in time to see Harry drinking a vial of some potion or other, and wondered what it was for. L still had the blue vial in his pocket.

"Apparently I was _born_ ready George, but yes, I'm good to go."

George just laughed and shook his head, quickly coming to stand beside L.

Having almost forgotten the dragons, L split his attention between the war in the sky, and whatever it was that Harry was doing.

The black dragon reared and made to charge at the coloured dragons, belching out a massive jet of flames. The coloured dragons glowed brightly and stood their ground, and the phoenix moved in front of them, spreading its wings.

"On my signal, three, two, one, GO!" shouted George, and L glanced at Harry, who quickly slashed his wand through the air in a complicated pattern before pointing it directly upwards, gripping it with both hands.

Suddenly a massive jet of white hot flames erupted from Harry's wand, rising up into the air and blinding everyone. The heat could easily be felt from where L was standing.

When the spots had vanished from his vision, L saw that the black dragon was gone, the Basilisk was in two halves with its forked tongue hanging out of its mouth and crosses instead of eyes, and the coloured dragons were happily playing in the air again around a large '2005'. The phoenix was flying lazily, a short distance from the group of dragons. Massive cheers erupted from the crowd as music started once again, everyone finding a partner for the first dance of the New Year.

"Harry mate, bloody hell! Look at your wand! Is that... you know?"

Harry's nose twitched, and he looked down to see that the fabled Elder Wand was actually _smoking_.

"Merlin's beard! You're right George, on both counts. I probably should have used the other one. I just sort of assumed this one would be better, but disregarded the properties of the other. Still though, I can't believe I almost burnt it out!"

"You made it almost daylight for a few seconds there!"

"Yeah, sorry about that, but it's almost that time of the month."

George burst out laughing, slapping his thigh.

"Shut it George! You know I didn't mean it like that!" said Harry, frowning.

"You've got to admit, it's funny that you've got a 'time of the month', especially since you _do_ actually get mood swings-"

"Shut _up_ George!"

"-and cravings, and-"

"Shut _up_!"

"-cramps too, you unlucky sod-"

"I said _shut_ _up_! It's not _funny!_"

"Yes it is! See, I'm laughing because I find it funny that you get PMS-"

_Bang_.

When the smoke cleared, Harry started laughing. First it was small chuckles, which soon turned into full blown laughter, Harry holding his sides since he couldn't stop.

L peered at where George used to be, and shuffled forwards slightly, pausing when he saw movement.

Where George used to be standing, there was now a ginger ferret stood on its hind legs, with its 'arms' folded. It looked rather cross, it had to be said. Not only that, but most of its fur appeared to be on the ground around it, making the creature look rather ridiculous, not to mention naked.

"Harry, can you turn him back?"

Harry calmed down enough to reply, "I can, but I'm not going to!" before he glanced at the grumpy naked ferret, and once again burst out laughing. L frowned at the ferret.

"Oi Panda, don't look so glum, he had it coming to him. At least I know the wand still works! Besides, I could have made it a lot worse. I could have turned him into a tap dancing ferret in a pink tutu!"

To L's surprise, the ferret nodded, before clumsily attempting to waltz. Harry looked over and was once again laughing hysterically, his face bright red as he wheezed slightly.

"Fine, I'll turn you back. Otherwise, you'll have me laughing until I can't breathe!"

With a _pop_, George was sitting on the ground. Harry and George both looked at each other, before they burst out laughing.

"Now there's an idea ickle Harrykins; Foxtrot Ferret Fudge!"

"Yes, and then what? Tango Tiger Toffee? Waltzing Walrus Walnut Whips? At this rate, you'll have a whole range of sweets that turn people into dancing animals."

"Not a bad idea, Harry; that would open up the possibility of selling them in sets."

"Lucky dip too. Know what though? You need something like the chocolate frog cards. This is where going to the muggle world comes in, since they've done it with football, but what about Quidditch cards? Collect the various teams, and-"

"Harry, you are bloody _brilliant_! It could show the player's best or most well known move, it could show their team statistics, player history... Harry..." George turned to Harry before reaching out and grabbing his head, muttering, "You're a goldmine! A genius!"

"Like I said, the muggles came up with it, and I'm just passing along information! It's not like it's originally _my_ idea! Any half blood or muggleborn could have told you about it... Panda, tell him!"

"Harry is correct. Muggles have had card trading games for years already. It is not an original idea."

"Original or not, it would take off, and that's the point. Right now there's just the famous witch and wizard cards in with the Chocolate Frogs, but the Quidditch angle could mean that these cards would be even more popular... Harry, I've got to go and get all of this down, bye... British Leagues, the International League, not to mention the World Cup... Dear Merlin, it's not a gold mine, it's a _diamond_ mine..." He muttered, as he quickly jogged ahead of them towards the house.

"I'll clean up here, and then we should go back to the house too. I'll bet you're hungry, and no doubt Molly will have kept a week's worth of food to take back with us!" Harry said after shaking his head at George's retreating back.

L looked around and saw various bits and pieces of coloured crate scattered around the clearing, which quickly vanished as Harry waved his wand.

"Why did you have to use a spell from your wand at the end, instead of opening another crate?" L asked curiously.

"Quite simply, the power levels needed to produce that effect can't be contained in one of those crates."

They quickly made their way back to the house; or at least they tried. They had to stop many times much to L's irritation, as someone would inevitably spot Harry and attempt to engage in petty conversations with him. There were actually very few people that Harry seemed equally as pleased to see. They had almost made it into the house when once again someone called out before they could step through the door.

"Hello there, Harry," called a young woman's voice, and L turned to see a woman standing in front of them, with eyes every bit as wide as his own. "And hello to you too, whomever you may be," she added, peering under his hood and smiling up at him.

L's thumb flew to his mouth as he got the distinct impression that this woman could actually _see_ him, even through the shadows obscuring his face. She didn't blink at all.

Harry grinned. "Panda, this is..."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **Apologies for the wait, I've been rather ill. Haven't been able to think properly for two or three weeks, and it's frustrating to spend an hour on one short paragraph.

Warnings for a few naughty words here or there...

**Chapter 17**

"Luna Lovegood, but just Luna is fine," said the woman, interrupting Harry. "Pleased to meet you," she added, staring at L with a detached gaze and a dreamy smile.

L wondered absently whether or not she was a fairy, since there were delicate wings fluttering in the air behind her. She was wearing a sea-green dress that stopped at her knees, and was carrying sparkling silver slippers rather than wearing them on her feet, which were left bare. Her earrings were in fact small radishes, and she wore a necklace made from what L suspected were butterbeer corks. She also wore a gold chain with an unfamiliar triangular symbol hanging from it. Her long, dark blonde hair was curled at the ends, and she wore a crown made from various flowers that he didn't recognise. What was presumably her wand was tucked behind her left ear, and almost looked as if it was supposed to be part of her crown.

"Hello," L mumbled quietly from around his thumb.

"Glad you could make it Luna! You make a very beautiful fairy, by the way. I thought you were staying in Patagonia until the end of February?" Harry asked with a genuine smile, obviously pleased to see her. L noticed that Harry seemed to be looking between him and Luna an awful lot, with a rather curious expression on his face.

"Thank you Harry, I worked especially hard on the charm for the wings. I'll be going back to the expedition tomorrow, as a matter of fact. This just seemed like a rather good place to be, don't you think so?" she replied dreamily.

"In more ways than one Luna," Harry replied with a cheeky smile, thinking of his meeting with George, the gadgets he'd gotten from Hermione when L and Ron had been playing chess, and a few other things he'd sorted out along the way.

"I'm ever so glad you understand Harry, otherwise I could be here all night explaining. This makes it an _awful_ lot simpler," the dreamy woman stated, before reaching to the back of her neck and taking off her triangle pendant. She smiled at both Harry and L, and simply stated, "I'm sure this will come in handy for you when the time comes," before turning and actually _skipping_ into the crowd, soon disappearing amongst the masses.

"I think I just missed something. Did I miss something?" Harry asked, sounding rather confused as he turned to L. "I'm fairly sure I must have missed something, because that made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. Did it make sense to you?"

"Perhaps she was hinting that there was a specific reason that she was here tonight, and mistook your comment to be understanding of that fact," L suggested.

"Sounds plausible; carry on, I'm sure there's something else I'm missing," prompted Harry, waving his hand in an impatient circular motion.

"I would also say that she assumed that you would come to your own conclusions based on that necklace she gave you."

"Ah. That would make some sort of sense," Harry stated, staring down at the necklace in his hand with a somewhat annoyed look on his face, "but what if I don't _like_ the conclusions that I've come to after seeing this symbol?" he asked almost petulantly.

"In that case, it would seem that you are in denial."

"Isn't that a river in Egypt?" Harry asked, grinning. All traces of his former expression had vanished.

L sighed in irritation, resigned to the fact that for now, he would be receiving no further information from Harry. It was a shame that the cloak would impede his ability to deliver a decent kick to a certain wizard's shin otherwise he would be sorely tempted.

They had barely stepped into the house when they were stopped yet again, this time by the black haired woman that L had seen in the kitchen earlier.

"Oh _there_ you are Harry! Teddy's been waiting for you since the end of the show so that he could say goodnight."

"Alright, I'll go and get him settled. If it's no trouble, could you sort out some cake or something for Panda please, 'Dromeda?" Harry replied before disappearing up a staircase.

"That won't be a problem Harry. Come along then, 'Panda'; let's find you something to eat, and get you settled somewhere nice and quiet to think for a bit."

And so it was that L once again found himself sitting in the corner of the dining room; this time with a bowl of strawberries, a bowl of granulated sugar, a full teapot, a slice of apple pie with custard, a plate of cookies, and two chocolate muffins. Surprisingly enough, this didn't seem to garner any strange glances. 'Dromeda had simply nodded and floated everything to where he was currently perched, before telling him to call her if he wanted something else, which of course he would never do. After all, he'd seen where the food was kept, and he was more than capable of finding his own cake. L had the vague feeling that he should be panicking at that moment, since he had never felt so foreign; yet the few people that had spoken to him were simply _nice_. Everyone had been rather _normal, _except for seeming to know things that they shouldn't. How would 'Dromeda know that he wanted somewhere quiet to think and eat? He hadn't heard Harry say anything of the sort.

Glancing up at the ceiling thoughtfully, L wondered how long Harry would be. He took a hulled strawberry from the bowl in front of him, and carefully rolled it in the bowl of sugar, taking care so as to make sure that the strawberry was filled with the white granules. When he was satisfied, he quickly put it in his mouth. He could only do this a few times otherwise he wouldn't have enough sugar left to put in his tea, so he chewed for as long as possible before swallowing. He much preferred his sugar in cube form, but it had to be said that there were advantages to the granulated version, even if he couldn't build towers with it.

Much to his pleasure, it seemed that L had the dining room to himself, and after shifting himself round slightly so that he could detect the slightest movement from all three entrances to the room, he set about finishing all of the food in from of him, as he reflected on various events that required deeper thought. An image of a fairy in a sea green dress came to mind, and he quickly dismissed it, thinking further back to when this bizarre morning/night had begun, back in Tokyo.

Something just didn't sit right with him. It hadn't been his _choice _to come here. That led him to much more complicated thoughts regarding things like fate, and destiny. He had always believed that life was what the individual would make of it and that there were always choices, even if they were limited in number. Two related questions fought to resolve themselves at the forefront of his mind. 'Did I have a choice in coming here tonight?' and 'Did I have _no_ choice whatsoever in coming here tonight?'

If he had a choice, then he would have said no. He had already said no, and he really was going to keep saying no; that is, until Watari had entered the room and told them that they needed themselves to leave. What would have happened if he had kept refusing? Would Harry have decided to take him along anyway? Was that when his choice was taken away, the moment their future selves had appeared?

It appeared that he had no choice in coming here tonight. Therefore it could be said that it was fate, in a way. He had never believed in fate. People weren't 'fated' to be good people or bad people, or to walk certain paths, or to die on a certain day. It was the choices that they made that determined how their lives would turn out. But then, how could all of _this_ be explained?

An individual's personality, or character, definitely influences the choices that they make in life. L himself used this against criminals by setting traps for them based on their psychological profile, not to mention how he found them in the first place. So is a person's fate determined when they are a child, and first become aware that they exist? It seemed unlikely, since a child's environment plays a large part in their development, therefore theoretically it could change that child's fate... Not only that; but Harry himself was _proof_ that fate and destiny were in fact real, and that it could be determined even prior to birth. A prophecy had been made about him _before he was even born_, and it had come true. It was only one example, but it was a rather large one, even if it could be seen as self fulfilling... Plus the centaur saying things about him that were true, and claiming to have read it in the skies, which only reminded him of something else that the centaur had said. He put aside the tangled mess of thoughts that he had just created, and thought back to even earlier in the day.

"_...The fate of the Shadow Child is no longer sealed."_

When someone's fate is referred to as being 'sealed', it never refers to something good happening. It's always either someone going to jail, or someone being diagnosed with a terminal illness... or someone dying, which seemed the most likely interpretation for someone in his particular situation.

So he was no longer going to die? Fate is a true concept, and his is no longer sealed. Therefore, something that Harry would do, would somehow stop him from dying. He wasn't particularly bothered about the concept of his death. If he lived past the Kira case, he would simply solve another, and continue doing so until the day of his death. If he died... Well, 'L' would continue to solve cases in the eyes of the world through his successors; but as a person, he would simply cease to exist. Wouldn't he? _But then... Harry had said that he has a stone that can bring people back from the dead. Perhaps it just created echoes of people that were once living?_ It certainly seemed more plausible than 'spirits' from 'another realm', or something equally as absurd. _Or at least,_ he thought a little hesitantly, _it would have been absurd last week._

Suddenly there were voices, and L stilled. He didn't even dare to chew his food, which was a bit of a shame for him really since it was the first bite of a rather delectable chocolate muffin, and he dearly wished to take another.

"You absolute _prat_! If it's not bad enough that you invite yourself to our house, you have to insult our guests? _Jealous_, Malfoy? Looking for a way to boost the family name by mooching off others and insulting people? Or are you just spying on us? Agh! GINNY THAT HURTS!"

"As _if_, Weasel! Like I'd ever sink so low! In fact, if you hadn't been sticking your nose into other people's business, I might not have felt the need to break it! Who knows, I might have done your ugly face a favour! _Get_ _your_ _filthy muggle-loving_-"

"You insulted Luna, you disgusting little ferret!"

"She insulted me first! And just what in the name of Merlin is a Blibbering Humdinger anyway? She's round the twist, that one-"

"Shut the hell up, both of you, and wait there until I get back!" snarled Ginny as she dragged two men in by their ears and dumped them in separate chairs, ignoring their protests. There was silence for a moment, and L wondered when they would notice that they weren't alone.

"I'm not sure whether or not you've noticed Weasel, but that sister of yours has become a right bitch since Potter dumped her. I can see why, if that's how-"

However, whatever was going to be said after that was cut off he was suddenly shrieking and clawing at his face.

L fought to keep his posture and his breathing steady since nobody appeared to have noticed him sitting in the corner yet, but his eyes were so wide that they almost hurt. He did however take the opportunity to swallow his bite of muffin.

"You just can't help yourself, can you Malfoy?" Ginny spat as she stalked into the room, pointing her wand at the dishevelled blonde haired man. "You just can't keep yourself from running that mouth of yours, thinking that everyone will just _accept_ it like they did from your scumbag of a father! I've got news for you, Malfoy. _Nobody gives a rat's ass what you think_!" she thundered, as a wet black flapping _thing_ suddenly escaped from between Malfoy's fingers, spreading it's wings before turning to attack the whimpering man, who was still clawing at his face. "Do you think you might get the message this time Malfoy, or do I need to submit a two-page article in a special edition of the _Daily Prophet_ to make damn sure, you arrogant, inbred, son of a _Death Eater_? You've got no right insulting others after the atrocities your family has to atone for!"

"Bloody _hell_ Ginny..." Ron muttered, seemingly in awe.

"And you!" She added, turning to Ron and leaving Malfoy screaming, as another wet black thing came out of what L thought was his nose and started attacking him.

"You're just as bad as him Ron! Every time you two get near each other-"

"G-Ginny-" Ron stuttered, as he turned pale. Blood covered the front of his robes, presumably from where his nose had been broken.

"EVERY TIME! You start fighting. Even if there is no _reason_ for it, you both look for a way! You will find a way! I for one am sick of it! I'm sick of patching you up when it's me that finds you, I'm sick of _hearing_ about how much you hate Malfoy, and I wonder, if you both hate each other so much, then WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS?"

"Because I hate him Ginny, he's done nothing but-"

"I'm well aware of what he's done! I'm well aware of what his family has done, or have you forgotten my first year? I however, am mostly able to just _ignore_ the little prat! Try it Ron, it works!"

L still hadn't moved, and by now Malfoy was a sobbing mess on the floor, feebly trying to hit the four bats that were flying around his head, whilst preventing a fifth from escaping. L thought he was going to be sick at the sight, but he didn't dare to move, or to ask where there was a bathroom.

He flicked his eyes around the room until they caught movement by the staircase. Harry was standing there just out of sight, and as L's gaze settled on his face, he noted that Harry was staring back at him in concern. Harry quickly smoothed his features, before wiggling his eye brows and smirking. L watched as Harry held his wand to his throat, and started mouthing something.

"Ron, Ginny! Where have you both disappeared to?"

L almost grinned. Harry had mouthed the words, but with magic he had made it sound like Molly Weasley was shouting from outside. Ron and Ginny both winced at each other before grumbling and making their way outside, leaving Malfoy on the floor. L heard Ginny say, "Put this on your nose, you prat," to Ron as they both left.

"Well what do we have here? A Malfoy suffering from the effects of one of Ginny's infamous Bat Bogey Hexes? Oh dear. You're only on five bats, and you're in this state? Tut tut, you're a lightweight. This is nothing, Malfoy. Wait until it's at two dozen."

"Potter you bas-"

"Ah ah ah; think about what you are saying, Malfoy. Sitting next to you is one of the few people who know the counter to that nasty little hex there; not counting the lovely healers at St Mungo's; but then it's bound to be busy on this night, especially with the rest of them out there needing a healer. In fact, most of the healers are probably at this very party, tipsy if not steaming drunk. You're not very subtle you know, which is rather surprising since it's one of the qualities that are supposed to define Slytherin house."

"Still. Hate. You. Potter," Malfoy managed to choke out.

Harry flicked his wand at Malfoy, who immediately relaxed before starting to pick himself off the ground.

"I'm ever so glad Malfoy, otherwise I'd have to see about finding another rival, and that would be rather time consuming. No, I'd much rather stick with you. After all, there's history there, and it's not a proper rivalry without history after all. Although, this is rather worrying."

"What the hell are you going on about Potter? Get to the point, some of us have got better things to be doing!"

"I'm starting to think I've been dumped. Ditched. Tossed aside like a used Portkey," Harry said with a frown at Malfoy.

"What?" Malfoy hissed incredulously.

"You heard. Here's me, your rival since the first train ride to Hogwarts, all that history going for us, and the next thing I hear, you're ditching me to get into fistfights with other guys? I'm hurt Draco. Don't I mean anything to you anymore?"

"I am going to kill you Potter. Slowly, and _painfully_," Malfoy gritted out between clenched teeth.

"That's much better Malfoy. Now who have you been insulting this time? Oh and clean your face, it's covered in snot."

Malfoy glared hatefully as he waved his wand over himself before speaking.

"Like I told the Weaslette and the Weasel, she said I was infested! With Blibbering Humdingers! I am a _Malfoy_. The two words should never even be spoken in the same sentence! It's a direct insult to the house of Malfoy-"

"Sorry, which two words was it in particular? 'Infested' and 'Malfoy'?" Harry asked innocently.

Malfoy simply glared before stumbling out of the room, making sure to shove Harry into the wall as he went. "Burn in hell, Potter."

"Eat shit, Malfoy," Harry retorted pleasantly, with a jaunty wave.

"Commoner."

"In-bred brat."

Malfoy turned slightly. "If anything Potter, _you_ did the dumping. The Potter I threw curses at disappeared, and got replaced with _you_. The Potter _I_ knew would have at least punched me in the face by now."

"Did it not dawn on your tiny little aristocratic mind, that I might simply have found another way of irritating you?"

"Seriously?" Malfoy asked incredulously as he turned in the doorway.

"No, I just can't be bothered with it all. See you later Malfoy," Harry stated in a rather good impression of L's usual bored monotone.

With that, Harry closed the dining room door on Malfoy's incredulous face.

L didn't move.

"Panda, we should probably attempt to leave soon, although there might be a bit of a wait, unless I take you through the Floo," Harry said carefully, blatantly showing that there was more that hadn't been said. Malfoy could be heard sputtering about indignities on the other side of the door.

"There is a fight outside, isn't there." L stated.

"It's just the usual New Year's excitement getting to a few people, along with the Firewhiskey I suppose. If Malfoy hadn't started something, it would have been someone else; although the fact that it's _my_ department out there clearing it up probably didn't put him off any. The Aurors were already stationed to deal with it, and they're not expecting me to get involved, so we're good to go," Harry said as he shrugged. He didn't seem overly concerned in the slightest.

"But?"

"But... Apparating or using a Portkey means we have to get off the property, which will be at least another fifteen minutes, ten if we're lucky. If we want to go now, we'll have to get in line for the Floo. I don't think you'll like travelling by Floo, Panda. This room will be needed in a moment, when they start bringing in people that need fixing up."

"Would we be able to leave from an upstairs window? Then you would be able to hide us while we fly to the edge of the property," L asked without hesitation.

Harry grinned. "You're catching on! Come on then, before the walking wounded arrive! Try to be quiet though, because there's a bunch of kids sleeping up there. They won't hear a thing from outside, since there are silencing charms up, but they'll hear us if we're not careful."

L then remembered the condition of the staircase, and held back a sigh, beginning to climb. He doubted that it would choose this exact moment to fall down after all. The probability was actually less than one percent. He glanced out of a first floor window as he passed it, and had to look again to make sure that he'd seen correctly. Outside many people were lying still on the ground, and a group of red robed wizards were firing red spells at people who were firing a multitude of colours at others. One man was stumbling aimlessly, naked except for bright pink fluffy underwear, and his arms had been turned into long slimy tentacles. His face couldn't be seen under the mass of seaweed on his head.

"They're just stunned, or knocked out. The ones in red robes firing the red spells are Aurors. It's honestly nothing to worry about, since most of them will be woken up and just continue on as if nothing happened. Even that man with the tentacles, and his hair turned to seaweed, will only take five minutes to fix," Harry whispered, also stopping to look out of the window.

"Very odd..." L murmured absently, staring at an angry middle-aged woman who was chasing a man around firing what looked like live piranhas in his general direction. One of the Aurors was chasing after the woman, seemingly unable to decide between vanishing the multitude of piranhas, and stopping the woman that was firing them. Apparently he settled on getting rid of the piranhas, only shooting the occasional red light at the woman, who showed no signs of stopping the barrage any time soon. Idiot.

"Idiot... If he was wearing the proper kit, a piranha could bite all it wants and he'd never feel it; although I guess I'll let him off since the stunned people wouldn't appreciate waking up with a piranha attached... I still bet he lost his boots again though... Come on Panda, we should go further up. I'd have us use the window that leads out to the roof, but that's in the attic. There's a ghoul in there, which is pretty much what we call a miserable ghost. I'm not sure you'll want to see him, and he doesn't like new people either so we'll use the one at the top of the stairs," Harry said, still whispering quietly.

"This is ridiculous..." L muttered.

"I know, but it could be a whole lot worse. What's out _there_ is a bunch of intoxicated magical folk looking for any excuse to let off some steam; a bit like pirates at a bar, I suppose," Harry whispered over his shoulder. "Then you've got the folk who learned a nifty bit of magic, and who are just looking for a target to practise it on. There are spells in existence that flay people alive, boil their blood, or turn them inside out. So like I said, this is nothing. It used to be a lot worse to be honest, especially after what the Ministry had been doing back then."

"Your Ministry has a lot to answer for," L stated darkly. Harry looked at him with curiosity having never heard that tone used, before adopting an apologetic expression and pointing at the window they'd just arrived at.

It wasn't even a proper square. That was the first thing that L could say about it. The next thing would be that it was rather small.

"I'll go first, and then I'll pull you out. Cheer up Panda; we'll have a bird's eye view!"

L did not cheer up. In fact, he very much desired to kick someone. Namely Harry. This whole thing was probably his fault, anyway. He probably _would_ have kicked Harry if it was not for the tiny fact that it was Harry who had to float them away, and the slightly larger fact of it being L who had suggested this plan of escape in the first place. L rolled his shoulders and prepared to climb out of the window after Harry, who had simply floated out.

"Don't be silly! Just grab my hand and I'll float you out too!" Harry said quietly after poking his head back inside for a moment.

L simply nodded and reluctantly held out his hand, acknowledging that floating out would be easier than climbing out. Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed L's hand tightly, pulling him up and out of the window. Suddenly the noises from outside flooded his mind as his head passed through the silencing spell that Harry had mentioned.

"_Up ye get, ye lout! Brawl's over! Back t'yer drinkin!"_

"_Miss? Miss, Hello! I'm Auror Tomkins. Do you need any curses removed? Miss?"_

"_WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU STUNNED ME?"_

"_I'll have to ask you to calm down, sir! You were Stunned in accordance with section three of the Brawls and Public Displays of Aggression Act, which you brought upon yourself, Mr Wiggins! I personally witnessed you casting a Chronophobia Curse on Mr Dewsbury! Now, I'll have no further arguments from you, or you'll find yourself paying a ten Galleon fine!"_

"_Preposterous!"_

Two wizards in light blue robes were casting spells to repair the ground as the red robed wizards were walking around waking people up; either sending them staggering to the drinks tent, or escorting them to the house to be 'fixed'. L stared in fascination as the woman that had just been woken up suddenly belched out a stream of coloured bubbles that played a tune as they popped, blushing fiercely at the young Auror in front of her as she covered her mouth with one hand and fanned her face with the other.

"_Oh, don't worry Miss! I know just the thing! Don't try and talk, now."_

The young Auror waved his wand over the woman.

"_There, now try and say something!"_

"_Thank you!"_ The woman said, obviously embarrassed.

"_No worries, Miss! Just save me a dance later!"_

The woman giggled and nodded, staring after the young Auror as he walked away and knelt next to a man that was lying face down on the ground, gently turning him over before firing a blue spell.

"_Sir? Sir, can you hear me? I'm Auror Tomkins..."_

"_Huh? Ahhh! No, you've got to stop it!"_

"_Sir, what seems to be the problem?"_

"_No, you don't understand! It's everywhere, and it will never stop! Time will kill us all! It will be the end of the world! I get what they mean now when they say it's all just a matter of time! It's so true!"_

The young Auror apologised before stunning the man once again (L having quickly come to the conclusion that the man was more than likely the aforementioned Mr Dewsbury), and floating him towards the house.

L barely noticed that he was technically flying, because his eyes were constantly flitting from place to place trying to take everything in at once. It was rather impossible. From one glance to the next, everything simply _changed_. Chairs were being repaired, the holes in the ground were being repaired, bits of table flew from all corners of the yard to reform themselves, fallen bottles and tankards were being collected, and all faster than anything he had seen before. Already the music had restarted, and people were beginning to dance again as if nothing had happened. From up in the air, L could see that the floating self-playing accordion wasn't alone, and was in fact joined by three fiddles, a cello, two drums, and a flute. There were only a dozen or so people still unconscious by the time they'd floated to the edge of the party.

"See, it's almost like nothing happened. Most of the older guests will have taken this as an excuse to leave though, hence the line for the Floo. Who-turned-who-into-what will be hot gossip for a few weeks, and I'm sure that tentacle man will be famous for a while. Wait!"

Harry suddenly stopped in mid-air, and L followed his line of sight to a cheerful looking man in brown and gold robes, with matching pointy hat. The gold almost looked as if it were a liquid.

"I can't go without talking to Arthur; I haven't seen him all night! I wonder what he's been up to."

L bit back a protest, since he knew that it would do no good, and soon they had landed in front of Arthur Weasley, who didn't seem to notice them at first. Suddenly his eyes widened, and he pointed his wand straight at L's heart before noticing Harry.

"Oh! Harry... Dear Merlin... Don't startle me like that! I thought you were a Death Eater!" Arthur said, staring at L. "My sincere apologies, but you never know. It's always best to be prepared..."

"Sorry Arthur, but we were making an escape. I saw you though, and it wouldn't be right not to wish you a Happy New Year. So, Happy New Year Arthur!"

"And a Happy New Year to you Harry! And of course Happy New Year to you too... erm..."

"Panda," said Harry, grinning.

"Ah, of course! Masquerading are we? A rather ingenious idea, I must say! Well Happy New Year, Panda! It's an honour to meet with you. Terribly bold thing you did there, on the Telly Fission, but I should be thanking you for bringing the matter to our attention!"

L silently wondered if he should start regretting that broadcast. Plus he was getting thoroughly sick of being called Panda.

"It was no problem," L mumbled quietly, digging in his pocket for a lollipop, or even a jellybean. Anything with sugar would suffice.

"Arthur?" Molly Weasley called. "Harry! You two were just about to sneak off, weren't you?" she added accusingly as she scowled at Harry.

Arthur pointed at himself and started sputtering.

"Oh, not you Arthur, I'm talking about these two!" Molly said, wagging her finger between Harry and L.

L actually cringed, and was disgusted at himself for doing so.

"Well Panda isn't really used to all this yet so I thought it would be better if we sort of escaped while the going was good," Harry rushed out in one breath.

"What were you _thinking?_ What if I came looking for you and you'd up and vanished without telling anyone that you'd gone? You'd have us turning the place upside down, searching for _both_ of you, worrying the whole time that someone had got a hold of you!" Molly scolded, her hands firmly planted on her hips.

Harry's eyes had widened throughout Molly's lecture, and he opened his mouth to speak, but snapped it closed as he saw that she wasn't done yet. L noticed Arthur grimacing and looking as if he was trying to decide whether or not to intervene, if the half-hearted gesturing of his hand was any indication.

"You have no idea how much we worry about you Harry, we _all_ do! You've got to tell us these things, or you'll drive us mad with it! Don't mind me Panda dear, but he needs a good telling," she added pleasantly, before patting L on the head.

"Sorry Molly," Harry said miserably, staring at the ground and looking rather guilty.

"I know you don't mean it, Harry dear, but with all that's gone on, how can we not worry a bit? It's bad enough not knowing where you are most of the time, without you disappearing from our own back yard!" Molly said in a much gentler tone. Arthur nodded a bit at this.

"I know, I should have said something. I don't normally sneak off though! I just wanted to make sure Panda didn't get caught up in all this fuss! Oh, and I came back to talk to Arthur, and I told him we were going... but you've got a point. I'll make sure not to leave without telling someone in future."

"That's all I ask Harry dear. Now then! I've packed up a box of food for you both. It's on the top shelf in the kitchen, and I've already shrunk it for you."

Harry grinned and held up his hand, a box soon hitting his palm with a loud _smack_. Harry winced and transferred the box to his other hand, shaking his sore hand out and hissing through his teeth.

"I'm fine!" Harry exclaimed at the Weasley's expressions, "It was just a bit strong, that's all!"

"That reminds me Harry dear, Poppy was just telling me that you're to see her by the tenth, otherwise she'll send you a Howler every hour," Molly said as she reached out to adjust Harry's cloak.

"She's _here?_" Harry blurted, and L watched in amusement as he began scanning the edges of the crowd.

"Yes dear, would you like me to call her over for you? You are looking rather peaky," Molly fussed.

"NO! Uhm, I mean, no thanks. We've got to get going, you see, because of the... Uh... Time zones! Thanks for the food, and Happy New Year!" Harry said quickly, before grabbing L's arm and starting to drag him towards the gate.

"Don't forget to write, Harry dear!"

"I can walk," L said, trying to tug his arm free.

"Not fast enough. Oh, and some sneaky low-level Ministry idiot tried to put a tracking charm on me! _Idiot_."

"Did you catch the person?"

"No point. They aren't the one giving the instructions. The good thing is now that I've identified the minion, I can hopefully use them to find out who is trying to track me and why. Fortunately for me, I have a whole army of tricks up my sleeve. For my first trick, I picked the spell off and promptly stuck it in their hair."

"That is the wisest option, and one of the cleverest places to put it. Are there any tracking spells on me?"

"Just the one," Harry stated bluntly, stepping away from L slightly and letting go of his arm, with a pointed look at the older man's feet. L's kicks were bad enough barefoot, without adding in the dragon-hide boots.

"Explain," L stated forcefully.

"It was me, and it's a special one. You'll like it! Well, you might not, but there's nothing you can do about it. Even if there was, I'm sure you wouldn't want to remove it once you find out everything that it does."

"Explain _in detail_."

"Yes, yes. I put a tracker on you earlier today, before we left for Hogwarts actually. I'd be a rather useless guardian if I didn't know where you were, after all, and it's a big castle! The beauty of _this_ tracker though, is that it doesn't allow any _other_ trackers to be placed on top of it. It's an old spell, actually. I find it rather fascinating how its use has changed so drastically over the years. It was invented for the purpose of keeping tabs on pureblood children from wealthy families, and to deter kidnappers from holding them to ransom. _Then_ it started being used to 'tag' muggles for various terrible reasons that I won't be going into, but let's just say it was a two sided thing. With its purpose twisted, purebloods decided that their precious children would not be tagged like 'common muggle criminals' and it became unfashionable," Harry said, idly kicking some longer pieces of grass as he walked. He kept a wary eye on L's feet, just in case one of them came flying his way, and decided that calming L down by giving the man information was the wisest choice, however pointless the information was; but he saw no harm in throwing in a few 'educational' sentences every now and again to give him a rough idea of how things worked.

"It used to be a tradition that it would be removed by the parents when the child completed their education, but after magical folk hid themselves, all that got replaced with the 'Trace' for underage witches and wizards, which is a load of rot if you ask me. It basically lets the purebloods teach their kids magic since it's assumed that the magic is being done by their parents, and that the parents themselves are enforcing the ban. Meanwhile, muggleborn children have no realistic way to protect themselves outside Hogwarts if they have to."

"Surely then there would be a case of a magical child using that magic against the muggle children without penalty?" L asked curiously, momentarily intrigued.

"Hah! There already _has_ been, and he grew up to be a Dark Lord! The Trace only applies to those attending Hogwarts; any younger and it's passed off as accidental magic, so the boy managed to traumatise half his orphanage before he even turned 11. Small things don't get recorded though, just large bursts. However, there was also a case of a six-year old girl with a magical family who was simply playing with her magic when she was spotted by a group of older muggle boys. They tortured her so badly that she became afraid of her magic, to the point where it would build up and be unleashed uncontrolled at times of great stress. It ended up killing her mother. I'm trying to change how it all works with the Ministry, but even my money, power, and influence can only go so far. I'm trying to figure out how to introduce the concept of magical social workers, of a sort. Have an actual witch or wizard monitoring the kids from the first signs onwards instead of some crystal ball."

"How can you track me with it?" L asked next; although he seemed to have remembered that he didn't like Harry very much at that moment for tracking him, and Harry definitely felt like he was being interrogated. Unfortunately it seemed that the man was not to be so easily distracted this time.

"It doesn't tell me in words, if that's what you're thinking. If you were standing in a field ten miles away, I wouldn't really know what field you were in – unless I'd been there myself – but if I was to think of you, then I'd instinctively know where to apparate to. It works with a map too. If I looked at a map of the world, I'd know what country you were in. Then I'd just zoom in, and I'd be able to pinpoint what building you were in. If I've been to the place before, then I would get a mental impression of where you are. Detailed enough?"

"Sufficient, for now," L stated shortly, still rather cross. He would have to make sure that Harry removed it before leaving Japan, but as Harry pointed out, there wasn't much he could do about it at the moment. L made a mental note to look into his rights regarding the magical world however, since he wanted to know exactly what kind of society he was dealing with, and exactly how to out-manoeuvre them if needs be. Or in this instance, to have spells removed from his person that weren't placed there by his choice. His choices had been irritatingly limited lately, and it didn't sit well with him at all.

L suddenly decided that his choices had been taken away as soon as he laid eyes on a wizard named Harry Potter. His mind flitted through every encounter, every conversation, every action and reaction.

"Right, we're outside the wards now, but since we Apparated straight to the place, we must have travelled from nearby," Harry said, hoping that L understood, and that he wouldn't blurt out anything about time travel.

L simply nodded absently. He was planning to test something. If he could distract Harry for long enough...

Harry stepped off the dirt road, and walked towards a group of three trees surrounded by tall bushes, pulling the hood of his cloak up as he went. L sighed, before following.

"We should arrive back here roughly ten minutes before they leave," Harry said as L caught up to him, referring to their past selves. L nodded. Harry motioned to get down.

They both crouched down behind the bushes, both sitting like L, although L looked more comfortable. Harry pulled out the time turner from underneath his robes, and passed the chain to L so that he could place it around his neck, ensuring that they were both wearing it, otherwise Harry wouldn't have been able to move his hand past the shadows.

"Ready?"

"Yes," L replied quietly, yet actually speaking the truth. Yes, it was disorienting, but he much preferred time travel over Apparition, and it was already established that he preferred Apparition over Portkeys. He was actually looking forward to seeing everything move backwards once again. It was a rather unique experience; it was almost as if for those few moments, he truly wasn't a part of this world.

Soon everything was indeed moving backwards, although it was rather difficult to tell with it being dark. The sky did lighten ever so slightly though, and the stars appeared to shift. L watched the 'fireworks' as if watching a video that was rewinding, starting with Harry's massive ball of white fire shrinking and disappearing amongst the trees, and quickly ending with tongues of fire also disappearing. It was another few seconds before Harry said anything.

"You should be able to remove the chain now."

L did so, slowly. He gathered the extra chain in his hand, and stared in fascination as it quickly shortened.

"Harry."

"Panda. Be quick though, we need to get going."

"What exactly am I supposed to do with the potion in my pocket?"

Harry nodded, as if expecting that question. They were still crouched behind the bush.

"I'll tell you what others have told me, since I'm usually not quite all there when this sort of thing happens. I'm told that wherever I am becomes rather saturated with magic within a few minutes, and that my eyes glow. That's actually a really good sign, since it means that the excess is escaping. Not so good for anything magical or muggle that happens to be near me, apparently. Poppy says I'm a Healer's worst nightmare, since I make all their diagnostic spells go haywire. So I'll probably manage to land us both on our feet, but when that magic comes back, don't be shocked if I have a funny turn. Wait until I collapse, and _then_ make me swallow that blue potion, since by then you should be alright. I should wake up within a few minutes, and be just about conscious enough for a little while to move elsewhere. We'll be landing on the roof, since I'm less likely to set anything off I hope, although I haven't seen it before so don't even _twitch_ until your feet hit the ground."

"What is to be done if something goes wrong?"

"There's a shiny red button on my watch. If you quickly press that three times, the face changes to a big red button with 'PANIC!' written on it in English. You push that, and it sends a signal to those who are better prepared to safely disarm walking bombs. If that unlikely event ever happens, then you should leave me wherever I am as quickly as possible, and go back to your life. Either myself or George would then contact you. Seriously, don't hang around, or the Unspeakables will take you too."

"Hm. What was it that triggered the explosion?"

"They threatened to do something. Panda, we have to go now, before someone comes," Harry said anxiously, as he glanced around. He was starting to feel uneasy.

"In a moment," L stated. "What did they threaten to do?"

Harry fidgeted. He knew that there was something he should be remembering, but disjointed memories of fear and pain were clouding his mind.

"Panda we really have to go now-"

"I am not moving from this spot until you tell me."

Harry paled. "We don't have the _time_ for this! Just come on, I've got a really bad feeling," Harry said, standing up and reaching for L's sleeve, wincing as his ankle clicked.

"Tell me!" L demanded, also standing so that Harry wouldn't be standing over him, and jerking his arm out of reach.

"No! Stop messing about, Ryuuzaki, and let me just get us out of here! I shouldn't be thinking of it, not this close!" Harry closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself and to banish the memories. He had no idea what would happen if his last coherent thought was of _that_. Still with his eyes closed, he spoke carefully.

"You are treading on thin ice, 'Ryuuzaki'! My thoughts need to be _calm_. You are not helping, and we have less than a minute!" Truthfully, he wondered if they would have to go back in time a little further, just in case.

Harry opened his eyes, and hoped that L could see that his questions would only lead to bad things happening.

L nodded carefully, and Harry's eyes widened in realisation as he stared in mild horror at something behind L.

"Sorry!" Harry exclaimed, before he lunged forward and practically lifted L from the ground as he spun them round. L tried to suck in a breath, stop himself from kicking Harry, and shut his eyes, all at the same time; however a bright, sizzling, _ugly_ yellow light caught his attention just before they left. It had been heading straight for L's head, and was now inches from Harry's. Everything around them vanished into a maelstrom of different colours, and if it wasn't for the fact that he felt like he was being dragged through a copper pipe, he would have thought he had entered a dreamscape. Suddenly the sensation stopped, and L stumbled, falling to the ground, one of his knees taking the full impact. Despite the dizziness, the headache, the tingling, and his food threatening to reappear, L turned to see how Harry was doing as soon as his eyes once again perceived reality.

He looked almost _lifeless_. His eyes were half lidded, his cheeks appeared to have sunken into his face slightly, giving him a rather skeletal appearance, and the purple shadows under his eyes had deepened until they were eerily similar to his own. L remembered what George had said about suspicious characters, and realised that his actions had only lead to them being fired at. If he had listened to Harry, that wouldn't have happened. Although, since George had mentioned it, that had already guaranteed that it _would_ happen.

Harry was right. He would drive himself to distraction with these circles of thought. A much better thing to focus on would be the fact that when Harry had turned them to Disapparate, he had almost put himself in the path of the Concussion Hex. This was _unacceptable_. Harry needed to be physically healthy, in one piece, and fully conscious to apparate them both to Japan as far as he could tell. Plus L recognised that Harry's magic could fix L, but that L could not fix Harry's magic. Therefore if L had a concussion, it would have less overall consequences than Harry having a concussion. L couldn't even access Harry's medical supplies.

L stared avidly as Harry started trembling, and his eyes flew wide open as they glowed a sickly poisonous green, rather than the usual emerald, the yellowish hue of the 'glow' altering their colour.

"...Harry?"

No answer. Harry didn't even look in his direction. The trembling increased to the point where the younger man swayed on his feet, and his breathing became laboured, as if it was something he was forcing himself to do. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, and L was tempted to reach out his hand and catch a droplet that fell from Harry's jaw, since there was something that didn't seem quite right about the fluid.

"I don't like this," L said quietly, "When will Ryuuki-kun fall?" he almost whispered. L put his hand in his pocket and grasped the vial of shimmering blue potion, bringing it out to look at in the morning light as he waited for Harry's body to fall. He stepped back, and crouched.

It felt a lot longer than it actually was, but a few seconds later, Harry simply crumpled to the ground, hitting his head on the concrete roof of the building. L knew that there would be a lump by the time they got back to the room. He quickly shuffled forwards, still in his crouch, and stared at Harry's face. He looked as thin as a rail, as if he hadn't been eating properly. In fact, L remembered there not being much food at his flat, if any. There was the house-elf, Kreacher, so L supposed that Kreacher would usually prepare his meals. He hadn't looked like this earlier, however.

_Irrelevant. Neutralise the threat,_ he reminded himself.

L removed the cork, being careful not to touch any part of it that could have come into contact with the potion, and placed it upside down on the ground. Slowly, he reached out his free hand to open Harry's mouth, but pulled away quickly as Harry drew a sharp breath before his fingers even touched skin.

_Get a hold of yourself._

L blinked twice, and shifted himself forwards purposefully, attempting to ignore the buzzing sensation he could feel throughout his body. Quickly, he opened Harry's mouth with one hand, and dumped the potion in with the other.

Harry coughed slightly, but he didn't spit the potion out.

L carefully backed away to where he had left the cork sitting, and jammed the empty vial onto it upside-down, thereby sealing it again. He was just about to place it in his pocket when he noticed some residual potion on the rim. L decided to find a place to hide it until Harry could retrieve it, and found a conveniently sized gap to place it in. By the time L returned to Harry, the younger man's eyes were closed, and had stopped leaking. He simply crouched down ten feet away and waited, eyes locked on Harry.

Three minutes and forty-two seconds later, Harry stirred slightly. Eight seconds after that, his eyelids fluttered. Four seconds later, he made a noise of discomfort.

L was rather disappointed when two seconds later, the little pattern refused to continue. It was a full twenty-three seconds later when Harry suddenly rolled onto his side and raised a hand to his head.

"Can you hear me this time?" L asked curiously, not having moved from his crouch.

Harry's eyes opened, but he seemed to be having trouble focussing on his surroundings, and he quickly squeezed them shut again. They were still brighter than normal, but they didn't look nearly as sickly as they had previously.

"Not a bed..." He mumbled as he attempted to get up. He failed, and hit his forehead on the ground. "Ugh... Not good..."

"Harry? Can you hear me this time?" L asked loudly.

"L? What're you doing'n 'ell?" Harry slurred as he dragged himself up, leaning on his knees and forearms. Suddenly he giggled stupidly, before saying, "Rhymes!"

"We are not currently in hell," L stated, ignoring Harry's giggling. "We are on the roof of the hotel, as planned."

"Oh, that's not s'bad, then," Harry slurred, before once again trying to stand. L sighed before he rose from his crouch and approached Harry to lend assistance, since it was obvious that he wouldn't manage on his own. L pinched the wizard's sleeve between forefinger and thumb, and dropped the arm across his shoulders.

"S'alright, gimme a minute," Harry protested, but L simply began dragging him towards the door to the roof. After a few stumbles and pained gasps, they reached the door, which happened to be locked from the inside. He cursed quietly in four different languages before turning to Harry.

"Listen to me; you need to unlock the door. It's locked from the inside."

The wizard nodded, and brought out his wand. He shakily tapped the door with it, and just as L thought something was drastically wrong, the door clicked open. He felt Harry expel a shaky breath, and they both entered the hotel, L pushing the door closed behind them.

With a wall supporting one side, and L supporting the other, they quickly made their way down to L's suite. L brought out his key and opened the outer door, encountering a shocked Watari on the other side.

"What on – Ryuuzaki?"

"Yes Watari, it is I. I know that this must be rather confusing, but you must go and tell them to leave. You may tell them who sent you, and do tell them to hurry."

"Right away, Ryuuzaki..." Watari murmured, before visibly giving himself a shake and entering the main room to fulfil his task.

Harry was surprisingly quiet, and was mostly leaning against the wall. L waited until he heard the sound of their previous selves departing before dragging a still silent Harry through the main room, and into the bedroom.

Harry shrugged L's arm away and stumbled over to the bed, simply lying down on top of the sheets and closing his eyes without a word.

L hovered at the doorway for a few minutes. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but it wasn't this. He heard footsteps.

"Ryuuzaki? What is the meaning of this? What has happened? Are you injured?"

"I will attempt to explain the matter, Watari," L began softly, after a short period of silence. "Ryuuki has conflicting magics that were forced into a confrontation of sorts, due to the method used to transport both of us to and from our destination."

"Is there any way we can help him?" Watari asked, staring at Harry in concern.

"Not concerning his magic, no. There is a potion in his system that should be dealing with that. He did hit his head when he collapsed, though."

Watari gave L one of his 'looks' before stepping towards Harry, and beginning to check his head. Harry lay completely still and made no noise.

"Yes, he has a rather large contusion on the side of his head, near the back. He'll have quite the lump and a nasty headache when he wakes. I'll fetch an icepack."

L said nothing, and didn't take his eyes from Harry's face.

Watari soon returned with an icepack, and placed it against Harry's head.

"Well," Watari said, "That certainly explains the circumstances surrounding your unexpected arrival. How did the rest of your journey unfold?"

"It..." Here L paused, unsure of where to start, what to say, and how to say it.

"Here; hold this, and I will fetch an extra chair. Would you like anything else?"

L simply shook his head and took the icepack, placing it on the pillow next to Harry before rolling him onto his back. This caused his head to fall against the icepack, negating the need for a person to hold it there. Instead of leaving the room, L crouched in the only available chair.

Watari soon returned with an extra chair and placed it next to L's. Seeing that there was no need to resume holding the icepack, he simply sat down and looked at L. However, L said nothing and continued to stare in Harry's direction.

Around fifteen minutes later, L unexpectedly jumped off his chair and approached the bed.

"Ryuuzaki, what are you-"

"Be quiet."

Watari closed his mouth and rubbed his forehead, obviously unhappy with the situation, but trusting that L knew what he was doing. He watched as L bent over the bed, staring intently at Harry's face. One pale finger lifted an eyelid, and Watari could have sworn that the young wizard's eyes were glowing slightly.

"He is improving, Watari. I will require a laptop – actually no, best not, since his magic is still potentially unstable... I want two extra large slices of strawberry sponge cake, a slice of cheesecake, a bowl of jelly beans, a box of Hello Panda cookies, a box of strawberry Pocky, a pot of tea, and twice the usual amount of sugar cubes. I then want you to check the system thoroughly for any errors or faults within the last half hour especially, and then check the entire hotel for the same period of time. I want to know exactly how he can influence or disrupt our technology and why, if at all possible at this point in time. Also, bring me a small wireless camera, from batch 26-C."

"Right away, Ryuuzaki," Watari stated, looking between the younger two in confusion, before turning to leave the room. He paused at the doorway.

"At least take that cloak off before I return, it is rather disconcerting."

"Every moment that you stand there, is a moment where I find myself not eating cake. Do be quick, Watari."

Watari shook his head in despair, and left the room, pulling the door closed behind him.

L settled into his chair, and continued to stare at his latest puzzle, not including Kira of course. He was fairly certain that he knew the identity of the murderer, his mental processes, ambitions, and reason for doing what he did. It wouldn't be long before the murderer was in prison, rotting away like the rest of them that thought they had the right to take the lives of others with no consequence to themselves.

Harry however, was an enigma; a walking contradiction. As soon as L thought he had the wizard figured out, Harry would do, or say something that would suggest that he had been wrong in his deductions. Sometimes he got the distinct feeling that he was being patronised, or made fun of in some way, or talked down to. It offended L to think that Harry would treat him as an ignorant child simply because he wasn't experienced in magical matters.

A small, less paranoid section of his mind whispered that Harry was just doing what he thought was best, and trying to give as much information as possible without confusing him. The larger part of his mind was still incensed at being tracked now by not one, but _two_ separate organisations. As genial as Harry had been, L was certain that if it came down to it, Harry would sell him out in a second if it would benefit _his_ world. The man had voluntarily walked to his death for his world, so protecting the identity of one 'muggle' would be unimportant. L was certain that Harry had been telling the truth about being his and Watari's magical 'guardian', but really; who in their right mind would willingly become L's magical guardian? Especially after meeting him? Nobody had ever taken any interest in L's wellbeing other than Watari, and even then Watari was simply interested in L's efficiency as a detective. L was a successful investment; that was all there was to it.

It could have been an impulsive decision on Harry's part. That would make some form of sense. Also, the short period of confinement may have rattled him to the point of grasping at any solution that involved _not_ being confined. That would perhaps explain things, but he doubted it.

What was baffling L most of all, was that his percentages just didn't appear to apply to Harry. It was irritating, and yet intriguing. He'd never been more _wrong_ in his entire life.

No matter what it was, the most likely outcome (according to his calculations) was _never_ what actually occurred. Usually something happened that L hadn't even factored into the equation. The world ran like clockwork, and yet Harry was an _anomaly_.

He had an amusing thought, that perhaps instead of the world shaping Harry, Harry shaped the world. Perhaps that was why he was so familiar with the stargazing Centaurs.

L suddenly sucked in a breath, and moved back towards the door, never taking his eyes off Harry. He opened the door, and sure enough, Watari was loading a cart.

"Watari, you should contact our associate. There is a rather large possibility that our biomonitors have malfunctioned due to coming into contact with magic, especially mine. It wouldn't be advisable for them to panic."

Watari nodded quickly, and continued loading the cart without pause. "Have a seat, Ryuuzaki. I'll be there momentarily."

L nodded and returned to the chair next to Harry's bed, hoping to sort out his tumultuous thoughts before the wizard regained consciousness.

A/N: Chronophobia is the fear of time. Yeah, who knew that reading/writing fanfics could be educational?

NOTE: The next one probably won't be out for a while, because we're moving house, going on holiday, Mum's coming, and I'm sure things will crop up in between... Also, concerning reviews... from now on, I'll only answer if there are things that need answering, since it took me the best part of a day to get through half... unless you happen to review when I'm having a mildly good day, then I'll probably reply. That doesn't mean there's any less appreciation on my part, not at all. It just means I'll spend more time figuring out the next part of the story rather than figuring out a polite way to say 'Thank You' to you lovely people without repeating my words. Honestly, after over 300 reviews, I'm running out of ideas.

Oh and I have a Pottermore login! Waiting for the all clear...

Let me know your thoughts on this chapter!


	18. Chapter 18

Ludovico Einaudi is awesome. Check out 'I Giorni', and 'Nuvole Bianche', and then disagree with me, I dare you. Lol.

**Chapter 18**

His first thought upon returning to some remote semblance of consciousness, was relief at not inhaling the sterile, 'one-scourgify-too-many' atmosphere of the Hogwarts infirmary. In fact, he could smell tea.

At least he was still in Britain, then.

This didn't seem quite right though. It registered as being an odd thought, but Harry (who now remembered that he _was_ in fact Harry) couldn't care less. He was far too busy realising that something definitely _wasn't right._ His thoughts were scattered, he couldn't move, and the only sense that appeared to be working was his sense of smell.

Unlike most other people who would find themselves in this situation, Harry did not panic. He merely let himself breathe, and tried to piece together what little he could.

He was currently lying on his back on a bed. It then registered in his mind that it wasn't _his_ bed. His bed felt like a cloud, this bed felt like... a bed. So, he was in a different bed then. His head was pounding in time with his heartbeat, and as soon as he acknowledged the pain, it seemed to instantly triple in its intensity as if to remind him of its existence.

Firewhiskey? No, his magic wasn't happy.

Harry quickly began a process similar to meditation that would allow him to briefly examine his magical core. He was never able to get too close without risking getting himself lost in it for a few days, but hopefully he'd be close enough to try and figure out what had happened. It was something that he'd been taught before the Unspeakables had been willing to release him back into 'normal society'.

He noticed that both 'sides' were currently battling the Blue Beast from Hell, as he'd sort-of named it. The only time his magic felt anywhere near calm, was when it was fighting against the potion, but even then it was a _tense_ calm. Neither his own magic or the 'taint' wanted it there, so there was a temporary truce until the Blue Beast was gone. Then it was business as usual, with Harry waiting until both sides had recovered enough wits to start fighting each other again, at which point he'd usually find some sort of release in his Duelling Room, or with the multitude of other handy little tricks he'd found. Currently there was a blue mass attempting to invade the home ground, and his two magics resented the intrusion into their personal conflict. Red and gold fought with green and black to defeat the blue.

Satisfied that he was in no immediate danger and feeling rather exhausted, Harry slipped back into unconsciousness.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

"Ryuuzaki, if you're planning to interrogate the boy as soon as he wakes, I'm not sure that he'll be willing to co-operate with you. You might not achieve the desired results. There's also his head injury to take into account, and the bruise on his forehead that mysteriously appeared."

"On the contrary Watari, the less of a mind he has to add in his usual nonsense, the better," L stated, almost as if he was considering whether or not he should add another lump to the young man.

"L, I don't think-"

"Exactly, Watari. That's _my_ job."

Watari sighed, and resisted the uncommon urge to give his charge a good shake.

"Well, he won't thank you for it. I advise you to be careful."

L – Who had so far neglected to remove his cloak – said nothing, and continued to stare at Harry, irritated when Watari didn't immediately leave the room and find some sort of task to occupy himself with.

"You should rest, Ryuuzaki. You've been sitting here for four hours! Staring at him will not force him to wake up any faster!"

"Yes it will."

Watari sighed, trying to ignore L's childishness. "Perhaps you could take a shower or a bath then? You should at least change your clothing! It's been _days! _The last time was before I went to fetch Ryuuki!"

"Go away," L mumbled around his thumb.

"L, this is ridiculous! I haven't seen you act this way in _years_! Are you sure you won't tell me what the matter is?"

"Positive," L stated petulantly.

Watari frowned heavily, and walked past L to approach Harry, who hadn't moved an inch since L had moved him. The icepack had been taken away hours ago, leaving a lump that would be a lot more noticeable if it wasn't for Harry's thick hair covering it. It really was amazingly similar to L's hair (he'd washed L's hair often enough to know); and with the chance to study the young man's natural face as he slept, he noticed that the shape of his mouth and the size of his ears were also quite similar. There were large differences of course, but it couldn't be denied that similarities definitely existed between the two. Watari checked his watch, before turning to leave the room.

"What is it that you wish me to tell the Task Force when they call? It won't be long now."

"Tomorrow. Something unexpected that hopefully will take no longer than a day to resolve," L muttered.

Watari nodded slowly before leaving the room, quietly closing the door. L knew he would be back soon with a fresh cart. Sure enough, a few minutes later there was a quiet knock, and Watari entered, pushing a freshly loaded dessert cart, complete with a fresh pot of tea, and three times the usual number of sugar cubes.

"Here you are then, L. Before I leave, I feel that there is something I must say."

Behind the shadows of his hood and with the knowledge that his face was completely hidden, L rolled his eyes, knowing what was coming, and already knowing his answer. The only reason Watari had prepared a cart was to have time to think about how to coax information from L, and to have an excuse to enter the room again.

"You've been away to goodness knows where, and you come back with a semi-conscious wizard with _two_ head injuries. You refuse to say where you were, although I'm assuming that it was somewhere in England. You refuse to speak of anything that may have happened to either of you, there are mysterious power fluctuations throughout the _entire street_ around us, and you refuse to say anything of how that may have occurred, even though I am aware that you must know something of it. I am left to assume that it is Ryuuki himself, considering the little that you have told me upon arriving. Then there is your strange behaviour! Now please tell me; what on _Earth_ has happened?"

"I am not obligated to inform you of anything at this present time. Go _away_, Watari," L stated stubbornly.

"Ass'ole."

L immediately sprung to his feet and hovered over Harry, staring intently at his face. Harry's eyes were once again fluttering sluggishly, and the fingers on one hand were stroking the sheets underneath.

"B'nice t'Wat'ri... or'll... curse..."

"I want _answers_ Ryuuki, and you're going to provide me with them!" L stated loudly.

"_Ryuuzaki!_ He's barely conscious! He probably isn't even fully aware of what has happened, or even where he is!"

"He will figure it out soon enough."

"Ryuuzaki, this is not wise!"

"I did not ask for your opinion on the matter Watari, now leave us."

Watari sighed in resignation before leaving the room. If anything, Ryuuki would gladly speak to him about the matter at a later time, but for now he had to deter the hotel staff from entering their suite to check the television signal. It wouldn't do for them to see any of their equipment, after all.

Harry had settled, but L knew that he would likely wake up properly in a few minutes. Sure enough, it wasn't long before Harry's eyes were fluttering, and his fingers reached out to feel the materials around him once again. L sat silently and simply watched. Even if he wanted to start asking questions right away, L grudgingly admitted that Watari had a point. He watched as Harry's fingers trembled, and his face creased into an unhappy frown. He probably had a headache. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and L was glad to see that this time they immediately focussed on where L was sitting. L sucked in a breath, preparing to ask his first question, but Harry spoke first.

"Great, stuck with you lot again," Harry mumbled.

L's questions were yet again put to the side in favour of this new development. He remained silent.

"So which one of you drew the short straw? Fox? Eagle? Don't tell me, I'm lucky enough to wake up to _Cougar_. You'd better not be Cougar, I warned you all last time about that tramp."

Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Not Cougar then. Do I get my glasses this time? Or is there some other pointless test? You know, you people suck at communication."

Harry blinked a few times.

"Since when do Unspeakables care about modesty? I'm allowed _clothes_ this time?" He muttered to himself. "No..."

L sensed that soon Harry would realise that he wasn't an actual Unspeakable, and so he spoke.

"Actually, you've been referring to me as 'Panda'. Your glasses are beside you on the nightstand, and I saw no need to take your clothes off."

Harry blinked. "Ah."

"Yes, 'ah'. I suppose you now remember the events that led to you being in this situation?"

"Yeah, a little bit. I don't care how much you hate Portkeys, I'm never Apparating that far with you again, ever. I know that much. I must be insane..."

L tilted his head slightly. Harry clumsily grabbed his glasses and shoved them onto his face.

"Why the hell are you still wearing that thing, anyway? Don't tell me you got _attached_ to it. You know that it's impossible to incorporate it into your daily uniform, right? The Task Force would notice. Get it off."

"Later."

"_Now_."

"I said later," L stated with a tone of voice that brooked no argument.

"And I said _now_, so take it off, of I will _force_ you to, and you won't be getting it back at all!" Harry argued. "You've dug yourself a deep enough hidey hole to live in without adding that bloody cloak!"

"No you won't. You could barely unlock that door when we were up on the roof," L stated comfortably, and with a barely detectable hint of smugness.

"Trust me _L_; I have plenty enough to get that cloak off you. One mind curse and we'll see whose willpower is _really_ the strongest, hmmm? Of course, I'd have to submit my memory of the event to the Ministry, since I'd be using one of the Unforgivables. Considering the nature of that cloak however, it's the only choice, especially with how stubborn you are. Plus I'm your guardian; I'm _supposed_ to stop you from pulling stupid stunts like that!"

L's eyes widened and he made an effort to leave the room. He almost bit through the skin on his thumb.

"Don't you _dare! _It comes off in here, right now! And we are _so_ not done with this conversation!" Harry continued forcefully, as he struggled to sit against the headboard. With a flick of his wrist, his wand appeared and pointed straight at L, trembling slightly. "Now, cloak off, and sit!" he stated, pointing at the chair with his other hand.

"I want answers, and _neither_ of us is leaving this room until I get them!" L retorted.

"Cloak off, and then sit down. Until then you're getting nothing but a damn good cursing from me!" Harry stated shakily and yet forcefully, with the first signs of real anger that L had ever seen from him. _*Meddling with things you don't understand!*_ he spat in Parseltongue.

L growled low in his throat, but upon seeing no other alternative, and having been forcibly reminded of exactly who Harry was, he quickly pulled the cloak over his head, mindless of the fact that he almost removed his own shirt in the process. He dumped the cloak rudely on Harry's legs, and stamped on the armchair before crouching and glaring at the wizard.

"Damn right. Quite frankly I need to be able to see your face to know that you truly understand how much of a _stupid idiot _you've been!" Harry said loudly, putting his wand away and glaring at L.

"You're calling _me_ an _idiot_? You almost got knocked unconscious! How would we have gotten back if you had been unconscious? If you hadn't noticed-"

"WHAT!" Harry exploded, leaning forwards, his eyes blazing in fury. "Oh, I almost got knocked out did I? Is that so? Would have been _inconvenient_, would it? YOU ALMOST _DIED,_ YOU STUPID, IDIOTIC, PRAT OF A MAN! HOW IS THAT FOR INCONVENIENCE?"

A picture rattled itself off the wall, smashing as it hit the floor, and the bedside lamp flickered as it flew to the opposite wall, its base embedding itself there by a good couple of inches. Miraculously, the bulb seemed to be intact, still flickering slightly. Outside the room, Watari was frantically linking a laptop to the wireless camera he'd given L, and waiting for the earpiece he'd just placed in his ear to switch on properly.

L flinched, and his jaw hung open. He tried to figure out how to react. "But George Weasley said he used a Concussion Hex..."

L _hated_ how small he sounded at that moment.

Harry sighed. "You almost _died_, L. Not physically, but _mentally_. The cloak would have shielded _barely any_ of it, and chances are slim to none that you'd ever have been the same. Yes, George used a type of Concussion Hex. However he used a modified version that was specifically designed for those with a magical core, alongside high powered shields around their bodies and minds, which _you_ _don't_ _have! _It's actually one of the few spells that the cloak isn't so good with. It's designed to punch through magical shields, and the quickest way to stop it is a solid silver shield, but even then it's enough force to send a person flying a good fifteen feet. Your face would still be hidden, but your identity would have been gone."

"Surely that's not-"

"SHUT THAT BRAIN OF YOURS UP FOR FIVE BLOODY MINUTES! Stop trying to apply logic where there is NONE to be found! Not in the sense that you are used to! The person that you are was INCHES away from being killed and replaced with a damn _infant!_ I would have had a concussion, yes, and it would have taken a week to rebuild my mental shields, but I would still be the _same!_ The modified version that we developed is designed to take out multiple opponents in a way that prevents their buddies from simply waking them back up!"

"A simple concussion would-"

"Quickly be resolved with a _simple_ short-term healing spell that would enable their buddies to then wake them up long enough to kill a few people and then Disapparate or Portkey away. I'm not a frigging sadist L! I don't go around modifying curses for fun! George saw two _wizards_, wearing _wizard_ cloaks, both with their hoods up concealing their identities, behind a clump of bushes, right outside his parent's home! We didn't respond when he called out, which I am _sure_ he did! Not only that, but George has also been through Auror training, and so therefore he would quickly sense that the 'two' wizards in front of him were damn powerful, and potentially dangerous! If it had hit you, with no magic and no physical or mental shields, directly on your head, it would have scrambled your brains; cloak or no cloak," Harry said tiredly. He clumsily swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and looked at L carefully.

L's eyes were wider than usual, and his pupils had shrunk slightly. He wasn't looking at Harry, and instead seemed to be staring through the carpet. His fingers shook slightly as they gripped his shins, probably tightly enough that they would leave bruises.

"Like I said," Harry continued in a gentler tone, "Yes, I would have been knocked out; but I already knew that wasn't going to happen. As soon as I saw the hex, I knew that we would be fine, and I would get you out of there on time. _However_," Harry added, his voice hardening, "If it hadn't been for YOU, conducting your little _experiment_, we wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place, would we? I _trusted_ you! You could have asked anything you damn well wanted after we got back here and this stupid poison settled in, but you _purposefully_ kept us behind, didn't you?"

Harry's trembling had increased to the point that it was affecting his speech, giving his words an edge that almost had L biting his lip in... shame? Sorrow? He didn't know.

"You were _testing_ _time_, weren't you?"

L glanced at Harry quickly before looking back down at the carpet.

"I thought so. Time is not something to be toyed with, or tested on a mere whim! Those who do, bring misfortune upon themselves! A time traveller either goes with the flow, or ends up being removed, one way or another. You'll notice that the spell was heading for _you_, who attempted to thwart time, and not _me_, even though I'm a walking ball of magic. What the hell am I going to do with you? I don't want to treat you like an ignorant first year, and I know you'll resent me if I do, but I'll have no choice if you're going to pull stupid, thoughtless stunts like _that!_"

L simply nodded, not lifting his head, and taking shallow breaths through his nose, trying to ignore the fact that the first half of that last bit made little to no sense whatsoever.

"L?" Harry called quietly.

L didn't answer, and shifted his eyes to a slight pulled thread on his jeans. They would need to be thrown out, otherwise he'd be distracted by it, and probably end up picking at it and making it worse. With the Kira case, he couldn't afford to be distracted.

L saw movement and lifted his head to see that his chair was now right in front of Harry, who carefully and gently began to pull at his fingers.

"Don't," he mumbled.

"You're digging your fingers in far too hard, you'll just hurt yourself."

"It is no problem."

"I won't sit here and watch you attempt to punish yourself like a house-elf! You screwed up, you almost died, you picked a fight with time and lost, but I already shouted at you for all of that."

"I'm not punishing myself; this is just how I sit sometimes," L stated bluntly.

Harry sighed. "You feel bad, right? Digging your fingers into your legs will distract you slightly, but it won't take away the bad feelings."

L said nothing, but there was no need for him to say anything. Harry already knew by observing the way that his fingers had tightened.

"It won't work," Harry reiterated quietly. L wished he would stop.

Harry watched L quietly from his seat on the edge of the bed, and a quick peek at his surface thoughts when L glanced briefly in his direction revealed a lot more than he had bargained for. That was just a peek at the _surface_ of his mind? That blank face hid quite a lot, it seemed.

For one, the man was truly sorry. Almost _painfully_ sorry. Pride wouldn't let him speak the words, and yet the longer they went unsaid, the harder it would be for him to actually apologise. That L felt bad was an understatement; he was feeling _awful_. He was mentally and physically exhausted almost to the point of collapse; his thoughts were in turmoil over everything he had learned about magic in the last few days interspersed with his rampant thoughts on Kira, and his knee was causing him a great deal of pain. He resented Harry on some level for making him feel trapped and inferior, which Harry would never have guessed on his own. He also got the impression that L had _never_ made a bad decision in his life. Everything was supposed to be controlled, and regulated, and not a single expression or thought was allowed to be shown without there being a purpose for it. L's sense of duty and justice was woven throughout the man's mind in such a way that it made Harry wonder if L _had_ made a bad decision at some point, and was spending the rest of his life atoning for it, or perhaps someone had done something terrible to him or someone close to him, and he felt guilt at not being able to stop it? His mind practically screamed duty and justice.

"Come on up, I'll move over. You can have the warm bit since you're shivering. The warming charm on that cloak must have been stronger than I thought if you're that cold," Harry stated, knowing that this was likely the only way that L would even consider moving to the bed. Now he just had to convince the exhausted man to rest...

L looked as if he was going to argue, but decided against it, not wanting to explain the real reason that he was shivering. He sighed lightly before stepping from the chair to the bed, rearranging the pillows before settling into his usual crouch.

If Harry didn't know better, he'd never have guessed that L's knee was hurting him at all. Harry once again found himself wondering what kind of childhood L had survived, to be able to ignore something like that and _still_ sit the way he did. Making a decision, Harry reached out and wrapped his arms around the other, hoping that it would help, rather than making the man feel worse. L tensed, but said nothing.

"I'm still a bit mad at you for pulling that stunt, but I'm really glad that you're alright; and..." Harry hesitated, pulling away slightly. "I meant it when I said I trusted you. I still do! The last person completely messed up and ended up pushing the 'Panic!' button after somehow managing to drop the open bottle..." Harry said absently. "Anyway, I just wish that you would trust _me_ enough to not feel the need to do something like _that_... I would have tried to answer your questions," he added quietly.

L's thumb reached for his lips as Harry thankfully let him go, and sat back.

"Plus, what would Watari say if I brought you back in anything less than perfect condition? He'd kill me for sure!"

"Watari would do no such thing," L stated confidently. "He likes you."

"Yeah, but if I brought you back here as a vegetable, that liking would vanish, and quickly be replaced with the urge to slit my throat, no doubt."

"Watari is aware that I do not expect to live long. I will be truly shocked if I live to reach my twenty-sixth birthday. He knows what to do in the event that I am either killed or otherwise incapacitated."

Harry looked at L in disbelief. "You don't see it, do you?"

"That depends on what it is that I am supposed to see."

"L, Watari really cares about you."

"Well of course he does, because I can solve cases that would otherwise be left as unsolved," L stated matter-of-factly.

Harry shook his head. "That's not what I mean. I mean that he sees you as _family_."

"I doubt that very much."

"In that case, go and tell him that you have a headache, and see what happens."

"I do not have a headache."

Harry rolled his eyes and lay down on his side, facing L.

"Nevermind. If you look for it, hopefully you'll see the evidence for yourself eventually. You've still got boots on, by the way," Harry stated, chuckling slightly.

L quickly pulled them off and dropped them on the floor in a heap, his toes wiggling frantically in their newfound freedom, making Harry start his laughing again. L frowned slightly.

"What is amusing you?"

"You!" Harry answered, still laughing.

"Whatever I did to amuse you was not intentional."

"Oh I know that! You don't have to try though; simply doing the things that you do makes me laugh or at least smile, sort of like Dumbledore and his outrageous fashion sense. I'm no fashion expert, but magenta, orange, and forest green just does _not_ go together, no matter what part of the world you visit... It won't last long, I have a feeling that by this time next week, you'll be kicking me for something or other, and I'll be finding new ways to irritate you."

L snorted through his nose, and Harry gasped dramatically.

"Was that almost a _laugh_? Quick, someone put it on a calendar! Play some trumpets! Make today a worldwide holiday!" Harry said with a silly grin, beginning to look sleepy again. He absently thought that Molly would be proud of his spontaneous hug. Maybe today should be known as 'Hug a Hermit' day or something...

"You are getting tired," L stated in reply, fighting a very small smile.

"So are you."

"I am fine."

"Please? Try to get a little sleep, it can't be good for you to stay awake for so long, and you've had an exhausting few days," Harry tried, before yawning.

L said nothing for at least five minutes, by which time the wizard had already fallen asleep. Harry was still trembling slightly, which L could feel through the soles of his feet, and there was a faint sheen of sweat on his face. His cheeks were red, which suggested illness, and that reminded him of something that Harry had said. _Poison_... Had he meant it in the literal sense? Give his magic something else to fight for a while, perhaps two weeks... then his magic would return to fighting itself. It fit... Except, if it was released slowly, then how...

L stopped himself. His questions could wait, since Harry wasn't going anywhere. Harry would stay with him until Kira and his weapon were neutralised, and posed no further threat to either of their worlds. He was surprised to find that thought strangely reassuring.

"I will try," L said quietly into the nearly silent room.

"And... I am sorry," he whispered a moment later, before staring intently at the sleeping wizard.

L's hand reached out and hesitated slightly, before lightly patting Harry's head like a pet dog, carefully avoiding the lump. After two pats he snatched his hand back as if it were burnt, and tucked it between his chest and his knees, before bringing his other thumb up to his mouth to nibble on. He shifted on his feet slightly, sighed quietly, and began to think.

Not even five minutes later, L's head drooped until it rested on his knees, and both were fast asleep.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

Watari stared at the laptop. After L had voluntarily fallen asleep next to Harry (against every expectation that Watari had developed over the years), he'd rewound the entire thing, and watched it again, pausing every now and then to think on what had been said, and to check that they were both in fact still sleeping. L had placed the camera on one of the pictures on the wall, in a dark corner where it wouldn't likely be noticed, even if one chose to stare at the painting intently. Who would stare at a corner? Also, there wasn't a single reflective surface on the device. Watari would easily admit to being proud of this particular invention of his. Luckily, it hadn't been placed on the picture that had fallen to the floor.

Of course, he'd heard Harry (Ryuuki? He wasn't sure how to refer to the young man at the moment, but he settled for Harry until he was properly disguised again) shouting that L had almost died, and in fact if the suites near them had been occupied, they probably would have been able to hear him too. Luckily, they always rented out at least two if not three suites, preferably four or five. If it had been up to Watari, he'd simply allow the wizard the use of one of those suites, but he could see why L would want to keep him close by.

He wasn't an idiot, and easily gathered that L had gotten it into his head to perform one of his 'tests' again, which had almost resulted in him being hit with a nasty spell that would have left him brain damaged. This was just one of the many reasons that Watari had for electing to spend his remaining days with L; to stop him from inadvertently putting himself in danger. A lot of people would find this concept rather difficult to understand, since L was correctly considered to be a genius – if not one of the smartest men on the planet – whether people knew that they were referring to him or not. He did have a rather ridiculous number of aliases, after all. L's astounding mind had shaped the world in ways that the average person could never begin to fathom.

What a lot of people would be surprised to know is that L could be rather self-destructive at times; and inordinately stubborn about it too. If he got it in to his head to test something or someone, his mind would not rest until it was done. It was widely known that L would do whatever it took to solve a case, but people generally assumed that that didn't involve putting his own life on the line. Yes, this was the first time that he had publicly put his life on the line as L, but that didn't mean that he hadn't put his life on the line under an assumed name. Part of Watari's self-enforced duties to L included making sure that the young man didn't put himself into _unnecessary_ danger, especially without Watari by his side. His mind was far too valuable to the world, to be lost in such a careless manner.

If Watari didn't bring L food, he would go hungry. Even then, it was a chore to encourage him to eat the minimum amount of vegetables required to sustain his body. Without Watari bringing him tea, he would stubbornly stay thirsty, refusing to waste valuable thinking time to fetch himself a drink. Without Watari, he would never shower, or change his clothes, seeing such things as nothing more than pointless tasks that were a waste of his time.

Half of the reason that Watari had for checking the live camera feed, was to ensure that he hadn't imagined L willingly going to sleep. It was practically unheard of. Usually he would force himself to stay awake until his body simply gave up and he passed out, sometimes even falling to the floor wherever he was standing; but more often than not Watari would enter the room to find L's head resting on his knees, still in his familiar crouch as he bit his thumb in his sleep as he had since the day Watari had first seen him all those years ago. If it happened during a particularly troublesome case, L would wake up in a foul temper, angry at himself for the loss of his precious thinking time.

Without Watari, it was entirely possible that L would have neglected his health to the point of being placed in an institution for his own good. Watari had found it difficult to adjust to L's needs at first, but he'd quickly grown to admire and care greatly for his small charge, not that he was so small anymore.

He rewound the video and watched again as L struggled with the concept of Watari caring for him as family, and he felt saddened. It was true that Watari considered L to be the son that he had never had, but he doubted that L would ever understand such a concept, or at least not in his lifetime. He then paused in his thoughts, and skipped through the video once more, to the part where L had reached out and patted Harry's head.

It was amazing. He couldn't remember a single time when anyone had shouted at L and actually gotten through to him, no matter the circumstance... Yet L had paid attention to Harry, and to display even a hint of care afterwards...? Even at eight years old, L the child had simply retreated into his thoughts and stared blankly, ignoring everything around him in favour of whatever question or puzzle his mind would come up with next. Watari fondly remembered Roger sputtering in rage as L had calmly walked to his desk and picked up his stapler in the middle of an angry lecture, only to fill his palm with wasted staples as he then announced to Roger to simply ignore him and to proceed with whatever it was that he had been bellowing. Predictably, Roger had launched into a fresh tirade as the boy sat crouched on the floor, linking the staples together and making a chain. When he had finished his chain, he had simply stood up and left the room, Roger's angry shouts following in his wake.

Roger had assigned him chores, which were never completed, or even attempted. Watari had followed the boy back to his room, where L had set about testing the strength of his chain, simply ignoring Watari. He had always been a rather odd child. It hadn't been long after the incident that had necessitated _that_ particular trip to the office that Watari decided that it would be for the benefit of all concerned (and perhaps society as a whole) if he were to be the boy's handler, with Roger running the orphanage himself. Watari was positive that Roger now regretted making that agreement, especially with L's successors currently in residence. The three of them together caused almost as much trouble as L had.

Pulling himself from his wandering thoughts, he once again focussed on what he had seen and heard.

L paid attention to Harry. Harry was a puzzle, but he was also the key to a much larger puzzle. There was also the fact that Harry would always have the advantage of his magic, which L would always be on the lookout for. Just being who he was, was enough to ensure that L would pay attention to Harry. It was an advantage that not many had ever had when dealing with L, and Watari was glad that the one to have such an advantage was a good person.

_Although,_ he mentally noted, _I'll have to have a serious talk with L about the dangers and unknown consequences of experimenting with magic, and a serious talk with Harry about a few of L's more dangerous tendencies, especially if they'll be leaving to visit the magical world._

He then skipped back through the video to where L had patted Harry on the head once more, and tried to place where he'd seen that particular look in L's eyes, but he couldn't for the life of him remember.

-xXxXxXxXxXx-

Harry startled himself awake, blinking owlishly at the feet next to his face as the images from his dream faded from memory. He quickly remembered that he'd asked L to try and get some sleep, and he was surprised to see that he actually had. He'd expected that L would simply refuse again, and return to working on the Kira case.

Harry used magic to carefully lift himself from the bed without waking L, and once he'd found his glasses, he put them on and simply stared as he winced and rubbed his aching head. Watari had obviously put a blanket around his shoulders at some point, but it was plain to see that the odd man really was sleeping whilst balanced perfectly on his feet, perched on the bed like a bird and curled into an even smaller ball than usual. Not only that, but he had his thumb in his mouth.

At that moment Harry found it difficult to believe that if L stood up straight, he'd be taller than Harry by a good few inches. He looked like a little kid when he slept. He certainly looked a lot less creepy with his eyes closed.

He silently left the room, closing the door quietly behind him, and saw Watari reading a Japanese newspaper.

"Ah, I did wonder if I would be seeing you first," Watari said with a welcoming smile.

"Yeah, I'm all good now," Harry replied before yawning. "Did we sleep all day? What about the Task Force?"

"Yes, it's now approaching nine o'clock at night. I told the Task Force that it would be advisable to wait until tomorrow before returning, due to a fault with the electricity supply, which isn't far from the truth."

Harry shrugged sheepishly and looked away. "Sorry... I forgot to have L put me in my Potions Lab, since part of that's shielded anyway. So, it was bad planning on my part really."

"It's alright, things have since returned to normal. Truthfully, it was probably better that you both got some rest before they come back, so no lasting harm done. More criminals have been reported as deceased though, and no doubt L will not thank me for letting him sleep," Watari remarked with a wry smile.

"Not that he ever thanks you anyway of course," Harry said with a grin.

Watari smiled and nodded. "Are you hungry at all? I hope you don't mind me saying, but you do look rather peaky still. Here, sit yourself down."

"Really? Ah... I'm fine really. Give it a few minutes and I'll look normal again. As for food... does Japan have toast?"

Watari looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Don't worry about it... Kreacher!"

_Crack_.

"Master Ryuu-Harr-Ryuuki is calling Kreacher with the wrong face in the wrong place. What else can Kreacher be assisting with?"

"Huh? Oh yeah... Thanks Kreacher. Two slices of toast with butter and a pumpkin juice please!"

Kreacher grimaced. "Just butter? I could also be bringing some eggs, or fried tomatoes..."

"Ugh _no_ Kreacher, just two slices of toast with butter and a pumpkin juice please."

"Two slices of cheese on toast, two sausages, two slices of bacon and a-"

"But I don't want any-"

"-spoonful of eggs is arriving in four minutes Master Harryuuki." _Crack_.

"...of that. Damn. Why do I get the crazy ones? No offence Dobby..."

Watari cleared his throat. "I'm sure that the hotel would have had something suitable."

"Yeah but all I want is toast and pumpkin juice... I hope you're hungry, he'll probably bring two platters and a whole jug of pumpkin juice."

"I... well, I wouldn't say no. Out of curiosity, do all wizards wear the same...?"

Harry looked down at himself, and his eyes widened.

"Ah... These are formal robes. Magical folk usually wear some sort of robes, but it's different from the muggle world. Muggles get hung up on fashions, and trends, but in the magical world everyone tends to live a lot longer unless a Dark Lord comes along, so it takes longer for things to change, I suppose. These robes are pretty plain compared to what some wizards prance about in. I should probably change out of these..."

Watari sat quietly and simply watched, not having had much of an opportunity to see Harry's magic firsthand. If L had been anyone else, Watari would have scoffed and said that the person was exaggerating, but he knew that L simply did not exaggerate. He still found it hard to believe something that he hadn't seen with his own eyes, and with magic he got the feeling that he still wouldn't believe half of it, even if he saw it a hundred times. He was half convinced that the whole snake episode had been a fabrication of his own mind.

Harry threw his trunk on the floor, the lid swinging open without any force having been applied to it. A wardrobe hopped out before growing to its proper size, and Harry simply waved slightly before disappearing inside it. Not even a minute later he emerged, wearing beige cargo trousers and a black woollen turtleneck, once again with the now-familiar face of Ryuuki.

"Muggles are definitely better at thinking up useful clothing. If a robe doesn't do what a wizard wants it to do, he's more likely to invent a charm to fix it than he is to redesign his robe," Harry stated, gesturing to the multitude of pockets on his trousers.

Watari nodded in understanding. "Spread throughout an entire society, that attitude would certainly hinder any progressive development."

Harry nodded in agreement, just as Kreacher returned with two full platters of food and a jug of pumpkin juice. It seemed that the old elf had decided to ignore any muggles that he came into contact with for now, which made Harry sigh in relief. Watari had enough to deal with in the form of a stubborn, cake-inhaling genius without having Kreacher's snide comments ringing in his ears.

"I told you so. At least he left me _one_ plain slice of toast... And here I thought that house-elves weren't supposed to go against their master's wishes. Obviously whoever came up with that nonsense never met Kreacher or Dobby."

Watari opened his mouth to say that actually, Harry looked like he hadn't been eating or sleeping properly for months and could probably do with eating a bit more, but closed it again when he saw that 'Ryuuki' looked to be the picture of health, if not a little tired.

"By the way," Harry said after swallowing a mouthful of toast, "Does he always sleep like that?"

Watari nodded, smiling slightly. "Ever since I have known him, he's slept in that particular position, no matter which way up he is at the time. I'm not quite sure how he does it," he replied fondly, picking up a glass that had appeared out of thin air, and inspecting it. Since he is asleep, I should probably warn you of a few things, especially if you are both going to be disappearing without me."

"Next time you're in England, give me a shout; but I think that L made a good point when he said that it wouldn't be a good idea to bring you. Magical travel can be extremely stressful for people not used to it, and I wouldn't want to be responsible for anything bad happening to you."

"Oh it's alright. If I'm meant to visit these places someday, then I will. Otherwise, I'm happy to stay here and watch over everything. However, there are a few things that you should be aware of."

Harry looked up curiously as he munched his toast, and nodded for Watari to continue.

"I... I'm not quite sure how to say any of this without sounding like a terrible guardian, but I'm sure you understand that he is not like other people."

"That's a bit obvious, but I think I'm beginning to understand what this is all about."

Watari looked slightly relieved, yet still troubled. "Well, there is a very good reason for me to accompany him as I do, even though he is a fully grown adult in the eyes of the law. With a mind as advanced as his, he tends to see things that you and I would class as being important as nothing more than a distraction, or an annoyance. Anything that sharpens his mind, or that helps to solve whatever puzzle he is working on, is considered important; for example, sugar. It's almost impossible to convince him to eat anything that doesn't contain sugar in some form. Everything else is considered to be unimportant, or irrelevant."

"Right, so you stay with him to make sure that he doesn't run himself into the ground?"

"That is a large part of why L requires a handler. Some things you will just have to find out for yourself, but I felt that... Well, I should warn you that self-preservation means very little to him. He cares very little for his physical self."

"Then why does he spend his life hiding?"

Watari sighed, and thought carefully about how to reply without giving away too much information.

"Many reasons. First of all, who would trust someone so young to know what they are talking about?"

"Yeah, I remember you saying something about him being twelve, and I'm guessing that's not the first case he solved. Basically you've been there in the background, helping him where he needs the help, guiding him subtly where possible, and making sure that he doesn't end up doing himself a mischief. It sounds like a rather daunting task to me. Seriously though, doesn't it annoy you that he's so rude?"

Watari chuckled. "Oh no, not at all! If anything I take great pride in knowing that I am helping him, and through him, the entire world. I put it to you that if some of your friends were here at this very moment, they would understand my sentiments, and feel rather similarly about whatever they did to help you, no matter how small the task, or how large the risk. This is why I require no gratitude from L. If anything, he is a gift to the world, and I am grateful that he gives me the opportunity to help and accompany him as much as he does."

Harry sat back in his seat, slightly stunned, and with a lot to think about. Watari sipped his tea before continuing.

"I saw and heard most of what happened between you earlier, and I can't thank you enough for your quick-thinking in getting L out of there before he was seriously hurt. May I ask what happened? Perhaps I might shed some light on his reasoning."

Harry nodded, and explained after finishing his pumpkin juice.

"We left the party, and walked down the road a bit before dodging behind some bushes to go back in time a few hours. L asked about a potion I'd given him for when I would inevitably collapse. I suspected it might happen before we left, and after apparating there with him I knew that I'd definitely need it, so I explained what he needed to do. After that was when things went a bit wrong, and when I first realised that something wasn't right. He asked a rather difficult question about something that I really shouldn't have been thinking of at the time, and I told him that we really didn't have time to go into it, but he insisted. Then I told him that we really had to go, and tried to take his arm, but he's nimble when he wants to be, apparently. I... damn."

"What is it?"

"I shut my eyes. That would be one of your warnings, right? 'When outside with L, never take your eyes off him for a second'. Am I right?"

"Almost. I'd say a half-second to be sure, but even then he manages to cause trouble somehow more often than not."

"That's not good then, since in my world I'm notorious for attracting all sorts of trouble. It's not like I go looking for it!" Harry added hastily as Watari started chuckling into his hand. "Anyway, when I opened my eyes, a spell was already heading straight for his head. I'm sure you know what happened from there," Harry added, shrugging lightly. "There's an added bit where George had already told us about two suspicious looking wizards hanging around, but I'm sure L will recall it all word for word at some point. Didn't he already tell you all of this anyway?"

"As a matter of fact he didn't. He refused to take his eyes off you until you woke up, intent on interrogating you for answers," Watari said with obvious amusement. "Until then, he stubbornly refused to part with any information."

"That sneaky little... HA! I messed up his interrogation because I thought he was a real Unspeakable when I woke up, and he got curious! Oh, that's just too funny..."

Watari hurriedly waved his arms for silence, but they both heard a loud thud from the bedroom.

"Well," Watari whispered, "He either jumped down, or fell down. Either way, no doubt he is awake, and will be joining us shortly. I should fetch the cart; do thank your house-elf for the lovely meal though, Ryuuki."

"Watari, you officially have the day off from getting us food, since Molly packed us enough for a week. Honestly, I would have raided it already if I hadn't specifically wanted buttered toast, so sit down and relax for a while!"

Within a few seconds, Harry was unpacking the box of food.

"While it is indeed a tempting thought, I probably shouldn't reacquaint myself with the concept of relaxation just yet, but thank you anyway Ryuuki. However, not having to be concerned with food for the day will free up some time for me to finish a few other things, which is rather helpful. I shall fetch the tea tray... Ah."

The aforementioned tray came to a slow and steady halt in mid-air, next to the table which was now filled with plates. "Seriously, I don't mind helping out while I'm here," Harry stated sincerely, "Although, I probably shouldn't overdo it for the next few days."

The bedroom door opened and L shuffled out looking as blank as ever, until he saw the plates covering the table. His eyes widened comically.

"Ryuuki... are those the same chocolate muffins...?"

"Yes, and there's plenty more, at least a hundred. All of this is just half of the first layer," Harry replied.

"So... How many layers are in there?"

"I don't think I should tell you. In fact, I should probably put half of this back and ration it..." Harry trailed off as he noticed the look on L's face. "But obviously just because I _should_ do something, doesn't necessarily mean that I will... So... this is really your idea of breakfast?" Harry asked as he frowned at the plates full of sugary treats.

L simply nodded before grabbing a chocolate muffin and stepping onto the nearest chair. He then pulled a plate of muffins, a plate of pastries, and a whole cake in front of himself before pouring himself half a cup of tea.

"Blimey mate, you don't do anything by half, do you? Except from pouring your tea..."

L picked up a teaspoon and stared at it for a moment, before beginning to stack sugar cubes on the _rounded_ surface. How he held the spoon steady enough to stack eight cubes, Harry would never know, but he did. Then the eccentric man managed to move the entire stack above the half-cup of tea, and with a quick flick of his wrist, the tower of cubes _plopped_ into the cup. Harry almost clapped, but he was slightly distracted by L reaching into the sugar bowl again and bringing out a handful of cubes, which he then dropped one after the other into the cup, until the liquid was only a few millimetres from spilling over the edge.

"What I don't understand is how you're not satisfied with Coco Pops, or Frosties, or something like that. They even have cereal that's like little choc chip cookies... Unless you have issues with milk, I suppose."

L said nothing in reply, which was probably a good thing for Harry since he had bitten off roughly a quarter of a chocolate muffin. Harry waited politely until L was finished chewing, but instead of replying, L bit off another quarter of the muffin. It was at this point that Harry realised that L looked a little bit _too_ happy. If Harry had been a lesser man he may have even excused himself from the room to give the older man some alone time with his muffin, perhaps blushing on his way out, but as it was Harry simply noted the oddity in his mind and carried on speaking, determined to keep talking until he'd at least been acknowledged.

"Anyway, you're thin enough for Molly to think you're near death's door by the way she's packed this. I've only got two layers! The rest is pretty much sugar in disguise, although I'm guessing you won't want the honey glazed chicken. Where does it all _go _anyway?" Harry asked with a hint of exasperation as he gestured towards L. "By rights you should be too heavy to move!"

Harry was genuinely surprised when L actually paused before his next bite of muffin, looking first at Harry, and then shifting his gaze pointedly towards the bathroom before focussing his attention once again on the muffin in his hand.

"Well, I didn't mean it _literally_..."

A/N: Apologies for the lateness! However I am no longer confined to bed, so finding quiet time to think has become a rarity. Plus we have stuff lying around from moving house, and Xmas... Anyway! Enough excuses! I hope everyone likes this chapter! Hundreds of you have this story on Alert, and it would be great to hear from you!

Good? Bad? Ugly? Something else entirely? Let me know! Oh and if it's not too much to ask I'd like to know why, too! So that I know what I'm doing right, of course, and then future chapters might be better... Improvement is always a possibility...


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:**** Happy New Year!**

Thank you so much for your reviews everyone! Every single one gets blushed and giggled at, so keep them coming! Every notification I get encourages me to keep going, and reaffirms that it was worth posting this story online.

Please spread the love! The more positive encouragement and support us authors receive, the more stories will end up being posted for us to read, and perhaps less would be abandoned! A lot of writers often feel shy or a bit delusional about what they write, so remember to give praise where it's due!

Chapter 12 is still winning the popularity contest! :-D

I own nothing, but I hope you enjoy my rambles anyway, even though I'm not a best-selling author. On with the story!

Oh and thank you once again to thephantomcat, and thank you also to laelruin, who both reviewed on my birthday! You're awesome!

**Chapter 19**

The next day, L instructed Watari to tell the Task Force to take the afternoon off, since the surveillance tapes still hadn't arrived, and were not due to arrive until the following morning. This left L rather frustrated, and he was more than happy to occupy himself with doing the other team members' work for them. However, this only kept him occupied for a few hours, and truthfully, he was still frustrated.

Abandoning his chair in front of the computer, L hopped down and shuffled round the corner, to where Harry was sitting. He'd been quiet for a while now, looking through magic books judging by the occasional sound of pages being turned. Sure enough, slightly round the corner and just out of view, was a disorganised pile of books on the floor. Next to the pile was Harry, sitting on a violently orange beanbag, reading a book the size of his palm with a magnifying glass, squinting as he tried to both read the book, and wrap his mind around what it was telling him. It was times like these he wished he'd taken Arithmancy and Runes at school, instead of having to muddle his own way through everything.

"Why don't you simply enlarge the book? Surely that would be more convenient than what you're doing now."

Harry jerked his head up, looking surprised for a moment before he glared at the book.

"My ancestor decided that if his descendants wanted the knowledge in the book badly enough, then they would put the work in to gain it. He wrote the book and shrunk it before placing a locking charm on the spell so that the book couldn't be resized. Don't touch the magnifying glass, by the way. Only those of my blood can touch it. Plus it can only be read through this glass; another one of his tests. If you're careless enough to lose the glass, then you'd likely be careless with the knowledge."

"What is it about?"

"Magic," replied Harry, grinning. "Family Magic. There are actually thousands upon thousands of pages in this tiny book. It tells me who did what and when, and it's helping me to identify some of the things in my vaults, since they're one of a kind," Harry said with a wan smile. "I'm not even a tenth of the way through it yet, but I've learned quite a bit about a whole lot of dead people."

L nodded, before scratching his ankle with his foot and staring elsewhere. After a few minutes of staring, he spoke, causing Harry – who had given up on getting any form of response after the first thirty seconds – to once again jerk his head up from his book.

"I gave everyone the afternoon off."

Harry stared blankly at L for a moment. "Yes, you did," he agreed.

L nodded, before glancing out of the window for a moment.

"That includes you, on the condition that you wear the belt, and give me your mobile number."

Harry wrinkled his forehead slightly.

"I don't have anything to do."

L stared intensely at Harry. "What do you usually do when you have time off work?" he asked.

"Well I... I suppose I've got a few little projects that I pick up here or there, but usually I'm working. If I'm not with the Aurors, then I'm working with some other department. If you mean by when I go home, then I just fix up the house, or go flying, or spend time with the animals on the island, fixing up their nests and putting protections on them, or going to the mainland to find more food for them. They get greedy when I'm away, I think. I tend to have to go back a few hours to do any of that."

"You've never taken a few days off to simply relax?"

"How utterly and mind-numbingly _boring_. I'd go crazy with nothing to do. I was supposed to have a whole load of time off; or should I say, I was going to fix it so that I had a whole load of time off after New Years, maybe join Luna in Patagonia for a while. I even squared it all with George so that he had Lee ready to manage the shop, then this whole 'Kira' mess turns up, and turns everything upside down. It's lucky I'd spoken to him actually; otherwise some idiot would no doubt be calling me every minute of the day about something or other. At least George has common sense and knows the meaning of 'delegation'. The last time I took three days off, the idiot they replaced me with had me working non-stop for weeks when I got back, trying to find all of his messes so that I could sort them."

"Surely it can't be that bad? There must be some form of organisation."

"Honestly, the Ministry is barmy. I have no idea how it all works out, but it does. I'd never seen such bizarre things in my life until I started working there! The Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee, for one. An entire department, specifically for the purpose of telling lies! From what little I knew of the muggle government, they've all got sensible names, and sensible jobs, dealing with sensible things. The Ministry of Magic is about as far from sensible as you can get! For example, elevators don't just go up and down where I work. They go shooting off wherever they need to go; backwards, forwards, left, right, and there's even a bit that goes diagonal, but you didn't hear it from me. Even getting into the place is barmy! Imagine having to flush yourself down a toilet to get to work!"

"That is rather bizarre."

"The cafeteria food is pretty much the same as in the muggle world though - terrible that is. Arthur said he'd see about improving it, but as far as I know, house-elves take care of all that, and I've never met a house-elf that was bad at cooking. Except Kreacher, but that little toerag was doing it on purpose... Anyway, maybe the ones they've got are getting old?"

L, sensing that Harry wasn't really expecting an answer, decided that it would be wise to remain silent. He was rather interested in hearing more about this 'Ministry of Magic', and how they operated.

"Of course, there's no point in me telling much more about the Ministry, since you'd have to sort of see it to believe it. There used to be a Hall of Prophecies, but my friends and I sort of destroyed most of it at the end of our fifth year, along with the Time Room, the Space Room, and the Room of Thought, with the Think Tank in it. Not much of a 'Department of Mysteries' if a group of six half-trained fifteen year olds can walk straight in! You'd think that they would at least have Death Eater alarms or something around the place, but no, a dozen of them managed to walk straight in too. We sort of did them a favour really, since security is a lot tighter round that way these days. They didn't even put an Unbreakable Charm on the Think Tank, which is just asking for trouble."

"So what exactly does your job entail?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, there's a whole bunch of paperwork that I have to get through for starters. Stuff like reports from the public that turn out to be leads on people committing magical crimes, or people who constantly end up having the Aurors called out. They get referred to whatever department deals with that sort of thing, and I pass those on. If raids need to be carried out to remove certain illegal artefacts, then I have the lovely job of co-ordinating all of that. I send out whichever teams need sent out, and if it's a big one then I tag along, especially if there are strong wards that need collapsing. Or if there's nobody that I think will get the job done, I go and do it, like with the Acromantula. The Aurors are trained to go in with their wands blazing, yet the 'diplomats' can't handle the scary spiders, and would end up eaten after attempting their usual bureaucratic speeches."

Here Harry put on a silly, pompous voice, reminiscent of Percy Weasley at his worst. "'I hereby declare, that _you_, Mr Giant Spider, are making a nuisance of yourself!'... _Munch_. I also seem to be everyone's favourite go-to guy, for some reason. I'm not sure where they got the impression that I can solve all of their problems, but oh well. Any time another department has a problem, they send a minion to find me, and I end up sorting things out one way or another. It's busy, yet more boring than it sounds. There's a whole bunch of other stuff internationally too that I can't escape from. I bet you that within the week I'll have to disappear off to another country to give a motivational speech or something."

"Interesting."

"Actually, I should get started on that package of paperwork that I got sent the other day," Harry remarked, before standing up and rummaging in his pocket. He brought out two tiny trunks, yet kept digging until he found a third, nodding as he threw it on the floor. L watched as the trunk grew in size, and noticed something odd at the same time as Harry. However, Harry merely flicked his hand in irritation. The upside-down trunk righted itself, and landed on the floor with a loud THUD.

The tiny book along with the magnifying glass floated into the trunk, and the package of papers floated out. With the package floating beside him, Harry soon settled down on the sofa near L's computer, a quill and inkpot appearing from nowhere as he took the lid off the box.

To L's mild astonishment, a stack of paper grew from the top of the box, and didn't stop until there was an extra foot of paperwork teetering above the edge. Harry merely sighed and took the topmost piece of parchment, scanning it briefly before grabbing the quill from mid-air and dipping it into the inkpot.

L sat back at his computer and turned away slightly so that he wasn't outright staring, before continuing his observations from behind his messy hair, whilst still appearing to be working on his computer. Harry quickly scribbled something, before the parchment flashed a light green colour and rolled itself into a tube. L watched surreptitiously as this was repeated with parchment after parchment, the frown on Harry's face deepening or lessening, depending on what he was reading. The colours that the parchment flashed were ever-changing, but L noted that they mainly flashed either green or red, with a few ugly yellow ones. The rest of the colours that he noticed only appeared once or twice. Occasionally, Harry would curse out loud and throw his quill, summoning it back before it hit anything. Miraculously - or perhaps magically - no ink was spattered during this process. Around half of the scrolls disappeared as soon as they had rolled themselves up, and L theorised that the ones that hadn't disappeared perhaps required either something else before being sent on their way, or a different method of transportation. Maybe Harry simply needed to keep them, and he was overcomplicating things.

L was actually visibly startled when Harry suddenly burst out laughing. It sounded almost incredulous.

"Merlin's balls Archie! When will you learn, you silly old coot?" Harry exclaimed before throwing his quill across the room yet again, and summoning it back before it hit the floor. He let the quill fall onto the table, took his glasses off, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Hm?" L murmured without fully turning around.

"Remember I mentioned a Wizard who liked wearing women's flowery nightdresses, when we were down in the Chamber?" Harry said wearily, yet his amusement was clear.

"I recall you saying something about a breeze."

"Well, the crazy old nutter has only gone and had an entire Obliviation Squad, three Aurors, the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, _and_ the Magical Reversal Squad called out to clean up after him. Again, for wearing the wrong clothes, only this time he was wearing bright purple robes, pointy hat and all, in the middle of London at 5.15pm. Not only that, but they were covered in brightly glowing twinkling stars."

"That seems rather careless, although with it being London I doubt many would look twice at him, especially since it is pantomime season."

"Wait, I wasn't done yet! Not only did the barmy old codger have bright purple Wizard robes and twinkly stars - he had the whole flaming _solar_ _system_ in orbit! Complete with a random nebula, an asteroid belt, all of the moons, Saturn's rings – _the_ _lot_. Guess where the sun was."

"...The top of his hat?"

"Got it in one! Archie you _idiot!_" Harry exclaimed, rubbing his face. Turning back to L, he added, "Then of course he caused a scene, forcing the Aurors to try and stun him, which then caused two traffic accidents, six craters in the street, and quite a few broken windows. On top of that, three muggles were hit with random spells, one of which involved a partial transfiguration into a stuffed toy cabbage. Fortunately the muggles were released from St Mungo's the same night. The same can't be said for Archie; he was admitted to see the Mind Healers, who decided to keep him in for observation."

There was nothing said for five full minutes, the only sounds being Harry's quill scratching away, and L's fingers tapping furiously, until the tapping paused.

"...Is there a picture?"

Harry looked up from the parchment he was writing on, before bursting into laughter.

"I could probably do one better, and get the memory. It might already be at the bottom of the pile, knowing George!"

"The memory..." L repeated faintly to himself, his mind spinning with the multitude of possibilities unlocked by that statement. He sighed, noting that he wasn't as frustrated as he had been earlier. Even if the case would be at a near standstill until the next day, at least he could still spend time figuring out the puzzle that was Harry Potter, and learning more about the strange world that he belonged to.

Seeing that Harry was once again engrossed in his paperwork, L decided to pick out some sweets for himself. It took three separate trips to collect everything that he wanted, and there was just enough space left over for his teacup and saucer. L didn't even look at the sweets again until he'd prepared his tea to his liking, adding sugar cube after sugar cube until there were so many in the cup, that they were poking out of the surface of the liquid.

Finally with everything prepared to his liking, L picked up one of his sweets and dangled it above his mouth, stuffing the whole thing in at once.

Unbeknownst to L, Harry was sneaking glances at the plates surrounding the other man, trying to figure out what half of them were.

"What is that?" Harry asked L, who was dangling yet another sweet above his mouth, just about to take a bite. L's eyes slowly slid to look at Harry, before he closed his mouth and slowly lowered his treat.

"This is strawberry daifuku."

"Ah, that's what it's _called;_ but what _is_ it exactly?" asked Harry, curiosity practically written into his features.

L looked at the sweet in his hand. "It is a Japanese rice cake, filled with sweet red bean paste, containing a strawberry at its centre."

Harry wrinkled his nose. "I thought rice cakes were supposed to be all puffy?"

"The rice is mashed into a paste."

"Ah. That makes a bit more sense! Although... I've heard of runner beans, baked beans, a whole bunch of magical beans, and jelly beans, but not red sweet beans."

L seemed to be debating with himself, before he reluctantly held out the plate.

"Try one."

Harry looked between L and the plate, before picking out one of the smallest balls. L quickly moved the plate away to what he considered to be a safe distance.

"Well, it can't be all that bad if you're eating it," Harry said doubtfully, eyeing the sweet in his hand warily. L simply stared at him before quickly stuffing another 'strawberry daifuku' in his mouth.

Reluctantly, Harry took a small nibble of the outer edge, and chewed slowly.

"Well, it tastes like food."

L shook his head from side to side. "You eat like a bird."

"Yeah? Well, you sit like one!" Harry said, slightly annoyed. If there was one thing he'd grown to hate in the last few years, it was the regular admonishments for his lack of appetite from almost everyone he met. Nobody seemed to have noticed that by 23 he'd definitely stopped growing, and that no amount of pies in the world could make his bones grow any more. Molly Weasley in particular had become a fierce taskmaster at mealtimes, leaving Harry feeling bloated and sick after a meal at her house, even though the food itself was fantastic. It didn't help that everyone else appeared to agree with her, and gave him that _look_ when he said he was full.

"So this is a sweet that people eat in Japan?"

"Yes."

"So you've finished working then?" Harry asked. L tilted his head in response so Harry explained. "If you're working, you either rudely order Watari around, or you grab things quickly. You took your time, so I figured that you weren't really that busy, or that you were bored. I picked the most likely out of the two and went with it."

"That was rather logical of you."

Harry narrowed his eyes slightly. "Are you making fun of me?"

"No. I was merely stating a fact."

"Ah, but if anyone else were to say that to me, they would definitely be making fun of me." Harry said.

L simply stared blankly.

"Fine, you weren't making fun of me," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "So, you're bored, and you decided to see what I was doing?"

"Yes. The one task that I could be doing, doesn't appeal to me in the slightest."

"What task?" Harry asked curiously, not really expecting much of an answer.

L sighed deeply before answering. "There have been websites created to support Kira's 'cause'. Many people are of the opinion that Kira is doing the right thing by killing these criminals, and they wish to support him."

Harry winced. "That's not good. If he ever wants or needs followers, he won't have to look very far."

L nodded. "I doubt Kira himself would interact with anyone on these websites, or even create an account anywhere, but if I trace a few of the more fanatical supporters and track their movements, the information might come in useful one day."

Harry looked confused. "Wait... so you think one day Kira would create an account on a random forum to collect followers?"

"No. If Kira is as clever as I think he is, he would go to a public forum and pick the most 'devoted' of them if he needed assistance. Kira would research everything about that person before contacting them anonymously. They would likely never see Kira's face, or even hear his real voice."

"I can understand why you wouldn't want to trawl through hundreds of comments cheering on a mass murderer," said Harry in disgust, imagining trawling through comments supporting Voldemort all night. "There's got to be something we can do... I could do with a break from these anyway. I'm about halfway done, maybe just over halfway."

L was just about to attempt to maintain the conversation by asking what the different flashes were before the parchment vanished, and where it vanished to, when Harry jumped up and threw one of his trunks on the floor.

"I know! I haven't told you about _wizard_ sweets!" he exclaimed happily, with a toothy grin.

"I already have sweets," L stated warily.

"Yes I know, but these are _magical_ sweets!"

"Are they useful?" L asked, intrigued yet still wary.

Harry hesitated before answering. "Sometimes?"

"Explain."

"Well, I know it's not really useful to turn into a giant yellow canary for five minutes, but if you flap hard enough, me and George-"

"-George and I."

Harry rolled his eyes "Whatever. Anyway, we found that it's possible to stay in the air for a good five seconds. That's pretty impressive, so they might slow you down if you fall out of a window... Uhm... then when you moult back into a person, I guess the feathers could be stuffed in a pillow, but we usually just vanish them. They taste a lot like muggle custard creams though! Uhm... Blood Pops! Blood Pops might be enough to stop a reasonable vampire from going for your jugular, so they're sort-of useful!"

"Do they contain real blood?"

"As far as I know they're like a really mild Blood Replenisher. Useful for when toddlers refuse to take a proper potion; and they do _taste_ like slightly sweetened blood. They're not a Weasley product, so I'm not certain what ingredients they use," Harry answered, slightly avoiding the question. "I know that the Cockroach Clusters do contain actual cockroaches though. Oh and the Acid Pops, they've got real acid in them, but the damage soon heals, and you don't feel it after a few seconds."

"I will pass."

"I don't like those either. Jelly Slugs are alright! They are like that Haribo stuff, but much bigger, and more wobbly, so you might like those! They can make your tummy wobble too if you eat a few. Makes some fat wizards look pregnant, which is hilarious. One day I might show you the memory of a drunk Ron begging some random guy to reassure him that men were still 'safe' and that it was still just women that could carry 'those baby things'. I remember being rather mortified."

"No real slugs then?"

"I... I don't think so?"

"Pass."

"There's Pepper Imps, they make you breathe fire. Doesn't hurt; and you've to be careful not to set the furnishings on fire... we were lucky there were spells for that already, or Gryffindor tower would have been burnt to the ground long ago, especially with Seamus trying to turn everything into Rum! Chocolate Frogs are literally frogs made of chocolate that have a short spell that makes them jump. Usually you get one good jump from it before the spell wears off, but sometimes they last a bit longer, and you end up chasing the thing."

"Isn't that unhygienic? What if it were to land on the floor?"

"Nah, it could land on dragon dung and nobody would know by the taste. It's magic, see? Harmless magic keeps it clean."

"...Can I see one?"

"Yup, here you go. You get a famous witch or wizard card inside every packet too, and there are loads to collect. You might even get a younger me," Harry said, throwing L a Chocolate Frog and grimacing. "Although, I'm still rare. If I live until twenty-five, they'll update the picture, and make more. Oh! You love strawberries, right? Well I've got some Chocoballs, and they're filled with strawberry mousse and cream."

L's eyes practically lit up, and he immediately dropped the Chocolate Frog onto the bed, still unopened.

"Are there spells on them?"

"Yes, there's a spell on them. This is a spell you will like though! It automatically refills the strawberry and cream filling a few times before the spell runs out."

"Like the toffee sauce in the Great Hall."

"Exactly."

"...Can I eat one? Will anything bad happen if I eat magic?"

"No, nothing bad happens if you eat these. Once the magic's gone, it's gone, and it only sticks around long enough to do its job. They look like muggle sweets, but obviously you can't go offering them out to people."

L stared at Harry for a moment before raising his eyebrows and pointedly taking an entire bowl of jellybeans.

"Oh yes, sharing isn't exactly your thing, is it? Although it's funny how you're less bothered about sharing your hotel suite than you are with sharing your dessert sweets. What will you do if you ever meet someone who likes desserts and sweets as much as you do?"

L's eyes widened in horror.

"I would run very quickly to wherever I was based, and secure my confectionary collection with the highest level of security available to me. Then, I would hire armed guards as I seek methods to make my collection even safer; I won't go in to details, I'm sure you understand. After all of this was completed, I would wait for a week or so before devising a strategy that would enable me to raid their collection and add it to my own, legally."

Harry sat in silent astonishment, knowing that the man was being perfectly serious.

"Well... Isn't the world lucky that you devote your time to catching criminals instead, eh?"

"Indeed."

"Right... So... Sugar Quills. Quills made of sugar, fully edible... They still look like feathers, but I doubt that will put you off."

"Are they made purely from sugar?"

"Yes, as far as I know. They definitely don't contain real quills. You get pure white ones, pure brown ones, and ones that are every combination in between, depending on the type of sugar used. The only spell on them is a mild charm to stop them from breaking easily. You have to suck them, or bite quite hard. Like a big boiled sweet I suppose, but prettier."

"I suppose that there is a potion for tooth decay?"

"Yes, there are two. One to give the drinker tooth decay, and one to reverse tooth decay."

"Why would anyone want tooth decay?"

"I'm sure that there must be someone who has watched you eat a table full of sweets, and wished tooth decay on you."

"Ah. Retribution."

"Either that, or a prank. It's also useful for disguises, since it's undetectable to Revealing spells... Now, there's also Ice Mice. They make your teeth chatter and squeak. They're actually quite funny, and there are no real mice involved. They are like a mixture of sugar and mint."

"However, these things are not really useful, are they?"

"Well, no, but then they are mainly for children. There's U-No-Poo, that's useful for giving people constipation. Gets the target out of the way within minutes. Then there's Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. I mentioned them to George, remember?"

L nodded.

"Well, they really are every flavour, so you shouldn't try those. They look just like your normal jellybeans, but with more colours, and flavours. You get things like chocolate, coconut, strawberry, orange, toffee, pumpkin, carrot - you know; _normal_ flavours. Then there are the nasty ones like grass, dirt, dragon dung, earwax, vomit, and I swear I got one that tasted like Skele-Grow. That's a potion that grows back bones, so if something doesn't heal properly, a Healer would vanish the wonky bones, shove Skele-Grow down the patient's throat, and they'd have a terrible night growing them back. I've taken the stuff a few times before, and it's rough. Can't take a sleeping potion with it either."

"Magic can grow bones." It was a statement.

"Yes."

"What can't magic do?"

Harry smirked. "That I can answer! Number one: magic can NOT bring back the dead. End of story."

L's head snapped up, his wide black eyes boring holes into Harry's green with their intensity, instead of peering dully at him from behind thick tufts of hair.

"Then what about the stone? You said that all you had to do was turn it three times, and think of the person you wanted to summon. That does not sound impossible."

Harry nodded with a grim smile, and resisted the urge to swallow heavily. He'd thought Snape's eyes were black and soulless... they were positively brimming with emotion compared to L's. If L lay down with his eyes open, he would look dead, no doubt about it.

"Once a person is dead, that isn't the end of it. Several things happen at once. The body itself is little more than an empty shell once it is dead, and I advise you to get cremated by the way, just in case another lunatic decides to raise an army of inferi."

"Creatures of the underworld... according to the Romans."

Harry blinked slowly in surprise. "An inferius is a corpse that has been animated by Dark Magic. Its sole purpose is to fulfil the task that it has been set. Fire repels it, returning it to a dormant state, but since it is already dead it can be a bit of a bother to... eradicate, especially when in larger numbers. Plus in a war, some of the dead faces could be people you know."

L's expression hadn't even twitched throughout the explanation.

"It's illegal to impersonate an inferius, so you might want to liven up a bit and put a smile on at least."

Harry saw the very slight tension in L's eyes that betrayed his irritation with the remark, and satisfied, he carried on.

"Anyway, death of the body triggers the natural release of the soul, which then moves on in most cases; but in _some_ cases there is an imprint, or rather a ghost left on this plane due to some unfinished business. The soul itself is not supposed to be here, and it grows more uncomfortable for them the longer they remain on this plane. That's why I don't like using the stone. They are dead, they deserve their peace. I have only used it to summon those who I'm absolutely certain won't mind being dragged here since they have a connection to me personally, but ultimately they do not belong here. Souls that have been consumed by a Dementor or that have been torn apart using Dark Magic can't be summoned, so I'm guessing those lost souls are irreparable somehow and don't end up where the rest do."

"Magic cannot truly bring back the dead."

"Nope. Number two: Magic cannot create true love. There's a potion that creates a sort of infatuation, but that's definitely not love. Number three: Magic can't create food from thin air. Food can be enlarged, or multiplied, or transported from elsewhere, but it can't just appear from nowhere."

"Interesting... if you had one of everything under a stasis charm, you would never run out of food," L said thoughtfully, no doubt calculating how large his food cupboard would have to be if he were able to do such a thing.

"That's a good point actually... I've seen plates of sandwiches that refill themselves, and loads of other things that are self-refillable, but I never thought of how useful they were... Anyway. Number four: You can't change the past. What's done is done, but we've been over this already."

L nodded.

"That's about it," added Harry. "I don't think I forgot anything important. Although what is possible, and what is allowed, are entirely different things. Oh! I can't believe I almost forgot!"

"What is it?"

"Everything must die. Nobody and nothing can live forever. There are ways to prolong life, sometimes drastically, but they have their drawbacks. Everything must die. Even Vampires are eventually killed. That's a rather big rule for me to have missed."

L nodded in understanding. "I expected that most of those rules would apply. Don't you like it?" L added, nodding towards the strawberry daifuku that Harry was still holding.

"Ah, I forgot I was holding it. I like the rice," Harry said, holding it up to show that he'd literally only nibbled the outside.

L reached out his hand, and grabbed Harry's wrist between forefinger and thumb. "Open wide," he stated blandly.

"Wha-? No! I can feed myself!" Harry exclaimed indignantly, leaning backwards.

"Obviously not," L replied, "You're wasting good food." However, he did let go of Harry's wrist.

"No, I'm just holding it. I will eat it, just not as quickly as you!"

L shrugged and turned to his plates. It was a good fifteen minutes before he spoke again, by which time Harry had returned to his work, and the daifuku was gone.

"What determines a witch or wizard's magical strength?"

Harry glanced up quickly before finishing off a sentence with a sharp jab of his quill. He carefully put it down and rubbed his eyes.

"We all have unique magical cores. Usually it mostly depends on the strength of the parents, although not always. Some wizard parents have children with no magic, called squibs, and some muggle parents have magical children, and they are referred to as muggleborn. Nobody really knows why this happens, although it has been suggested that inbreeding causes squibs, and then somewhere down the line two squibs make a muggleborn. Nothing has been proved though. 'Mione's a powerful witch, and her parents are both muggles, and the same was said about my mother. There are ways to increase magical power though."

"Like what happened to you."

Harry laughed a bit and shook his head. "I should be dead. I really should, you know. It's almost _absurd_ how many times I should have died by now. I'm starting to think I should set up a reward for whoever manages it in the end. I have to say though, if I choke on my food and die from it, I won't be happy."

L had to agree that after everything he'd read, Harry choking on food would be rather anticlimactic as far as deaths went. He also couldn't help but hope that the wizard was joking, considering the rather large possibility of Harry being killed in a terribly painful manner... and L's mind was eager to attempt to show him plenty of examples. He got the feeling that when Harry _did_ face death, he'd wish he'd voluntarily choked on his food.

"Anyway, there are plenty of dark rituals to enhance power, speed, endurance, you name it; but it all comes with a rather hefty price. To be at that level, you need to have practiced enough Dark Arts to have already become addicted to it, or you risk killing yourself during the ritual. There are a few Light Magic tricks to increase power, but it takes many years of dedicated study and practice to widen the magical conduits safely. There's also Core Magic, which very few have the aptitude for, and it's extremely dangerous."

"Yours were widened unsafely."

"Yes. Like I said, I really should be dead."

"I appreciate the information, but rather, what would affect magical strength on a day to day basis?"

"Oh! Well, there's magical exhaustion, that's nasty. Self explanatory really. Then there's physical exhaustion, which can weaken spells. Hunger can take away concentration which can be a weakness in a duel. Depression can make spells weaker too. According to the Ministry, the only safe way to contain a magical person is to put them in a cell in a fortress on a godforsaken island surrounded by Dementors day and night, as they suck out all the happy memories, leaving them... well, you know."

L remembered what he'd read about Dementors, and nodded.

"We don't get ill like you do, but there are magical illnesses, and they can make a person's magic go out of control, or weaken it; and I know Dragon Pox killed a lot of people in the seventies. Oh, and of course extreme pain and nerve damage can weaken a person until the nerves are repaired. The Cruciatus Curse is terrible; it basically sets off pain signals from everything that it's possible to feel pain from, and if held too long leads to insanity and severe brain damage. It's all in the mind though, and your body tortures itself. Voldemort liked that one," Harry mused absently.

"Voldemort is dead."

Harry nodded sharply. "Once and for all. Now we have Kira, who is most likely a muggle with something terribly nasty up his sleeve. In a way, if he kills me, at least it will give my world the legal power to stash him in Azkaban. Clever or not, a few weeks in there and his brains would be mush," Harry mused darkly, as he took another sheet of parchment from the box and picked up his quill.

L almost shivered as he subconsciously shielded his mind.

xXxXxXxXxXx

The next morning, the surveillance tapes from the FBI agent's deaths had arrived throughout the day, gradually taking over most of the available floor space in the main room. L had set up five screens in front of his armchair and hadn't left it since the first box full of tapes had arrived that morning. When he finished watching five of the tapes, one of the officers – usually Matsuda, or Ukita if Matsuda was busy making coffee – was swiftly instructed to swap them for five more of L's choosing. Watari kept him supplied with tea and a wide range of confectionary.

All of the officers were doing their best to at least appear as if they were being just as vigilant as L, though they generally picked just one screen to stare at. Harry was lying on a sofa behind the screens, with his arm over his eyes. The Task Force glanced at him every now and then, but mostly left him alone, except for Matsuda who insisted on asking if he was alright every few minutes, or at least that's what it felt like to Harry. Nobody really knew if L was aware that 'Ryuuki' had been lying on the sofa for ninety minutes, so focussed was he on the screens in front of him.

Harry's head ached fiercely, but he couldn't get out a potion, since then he'd probably have to act as though he was still ill for a few hours afterwards. Staring at grainy CCTV footage all morning, on five screens, with thick curtains blocking out any natural light was something that he clearly wasn't accustomed to. There were only four agents whose deaths were recorded, but there was footage of the others leaving their hotel rooms or walking the streets, from many different angles, which all had to be sorted through. A few times Matsuda had offered to fetch some pain relief, but Harry knew that muggle medicine wouldn't do the job, and had refused each time, much to the other's confusion, not that Harry knew this.

In fact Harry didn't sit up until around an hour later, when he heard L say something other than tape numbers through the barbed wire wrapped cotton wool landscape of his mind. By rubbing his hands through his hair, he managed to concentrate enough to cast a temporary wandless pain relieving spell, allowing him to focus on what was being said, well, for the next ten minutes at least.

"...where he gets on the train, and where he dies? I'd like to see those again, next to each other," L was saying slowly, staring at the screens.

Aizawa jumped up and retrieved the tapes, as Harry moved to stand behind the sofa that Aizawa and L were occupying. This was the FBI agent who had been following Light Yagami, and who had been involved in that bus-jacking he'd found in the newspaper... He decided against saying this out loud however; if L didn't say anything, then he probably had a good reason.

Harry watched carefully, as L confirmed that the man on the screen was indeed Raye Penber, and that the time on the tape matched the time that had been on his ticket.

"Very strange..." L mused a few minutes later, resting the tip of his thumb on his bottom lip. "He gets on the train at 15:13. He dies the moment he gets off, at 16:45. One full circle on the Yamanote Line loop takes an hour. And he was on there for an hour and a half... but no other ticket was found on him, and nothing is printed on his prepaid card to indicate he got out and re-entered."

Harry mumbled, "Maybe someone made him stay on there, since it wouldn't make sense for him to want to sit in that contraption any longer than he needed to."

L nodded absently. "Yes... he gets on the train at 15:13, even if he was shadowing someone at the time, this image isn't clear enough to figure out who it may be. And right before he died, Raye Penber received the file with the names and faces of all the FBI agents in Japan on his computer at 15:21. That's just eight minutes after he boarded. Penber sat on that train for an hour and a half with the file on him..."

Harry silently agreed that this was most definitely strange.

"Kira can control people's actions right before they die. So I guess we could say that's the reason any of the Agents acted strangely that day, but... What happened to the envelope?" L suddenly exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat, eyes wide.

Harry stared at the screens and looked for an envelope, but there was only one screen still showing Raye Penber, and he was definitely dead, with no envelope in sight.

Aizawa had exclaimed, "What envelope?" excitedly, and had also leaned forwards in his seat, probably caught up in the excitement that L's outburst had caused. It wasn't an outburst in any normal sense of the word according to Harry; but there was a significant increase in both movement and volume from the lead detective that seemed to prompt a whole flurry of emotions from the others, and the atmosphere had changed from saddened curiosity to a rather morbid hopefulness in anticipation of a possibly vital clue.

Aizawa quickly rewound the tapes, and they all focussed on Penber.

"Hey, you're right! He's definitely holding an envelope," said Aizawa, following Penber with his finger. "He's got it over here too... I can't believe you noticed that, Ryuuzaki!"

L made no comment.

"There was nothing like an envelope on his body, though..." said Chief Yagami, looking at a sheet of paper, presumably a report from the Japanese policemen who dealt with dead bodies... Harry couldn't quite remember the muggle term for that particular job, what with the Dwarves still chipping away at the inside of his skull with their pickaxes, even with the spell... but he'd figure that out later... Perhaps it wasn't Dwarves at all, but a Flibbering Drumbanger, or something else equally obscure that may find its way into Luna's repertoire of strange creatures.

"Which would mean he left it on the train," L replied quickly, his thumb drifting towards his mouth, before being diverted to his knee. Harry wondered if L's knee still hurt. It probably did.

"Maybe that envelope contained a file of the FBI Agents in Japan..." the Chief mused.

"...and Kira got it from him, then made Penber get off and killed him," added Matsuda almost hopefully.

"No," L stated, "Penber only got the file at 15:21, on the train. He couldn't have had it before he boarded."

"Oh yeah..." mumbled Matsuda sheepishly.

L then ordered Aizawa to retrieve all footage from the Yamanote Line for the 27th of December. "And..." he murmured, looking back at the screen, "This last image of Raye Penber... to me..."

Harry stared at the image on the screen; Raye Penber in his final moments, straining to reach... the door of the train? It's unlikely he wanted to get back on board, so why?

"...It looks like he's desperately trying to look into the train," L continued.

"...And if he is, that's a clue?" asked the Chief.

"Wouldn't it be interesting if Kira was in there?" L suggested.

The Chief looked shocked, and stuttered. "You... Couldn't be..."

Harry was thinking that L was onto something, and tried to think of a reason.

"I agree," L replied. "It isn't likely. If Kira can murder from afar, then why would he bother going there?"

"I'm hoping he would go simply to make sure that his plans worked, and nothing more, but if he really does have a God complex then there are probably a few reasons. I can think of some," said Harry slowly, resisting the urge to pull out his trunk there and then for a pain reliever.

L nodded. "If Kira was indeed there at the station, then I doubt he would have let himself be caught on a security camera with the envelope... a public place like this, he would have checked the camera locations in advance and used the blind spots, if any. If not, he'd hide behind someone. But, if he _is_ captured on camera with it, we could call him in as a material witness."

L obviously wasn't too hopeful about that happening, but the others nodded. He hopped down from the sofa and headed towards his stash of sweets before pausing. Glancing over his shoulder, he said, "Okay, so... Aizawa-san, you keep searching for connections between the 11 FBI agents and those heart attack victims, while Yagami-san and Matsuda-san concentrate on what Raye Penber was up to."

"I'm on it."

"Okay."

L continued shuffling towards his sweets, and Harry figured that now would be as good a time as any to sneak away and fetch a potion from his trunk.

As Harry was sneaking past Watari, who was sitting by himself nearer the door, he heard Watari's phone beeping from his pocket. The old man answered it promptly, and Harry couldn't help but be curious.

"Yes... Yes... Please wait a moment. Ryuuzaki, it's from Ukita-san at the other office. He says he's on the line with someone who has interesting information."

To be continued...


End file.
